I am that person who has 50 back up plans in case something goes wrong. Maybe that is considered being flexible. Maybe it is considered overly prepared. Either way, I am typically not stressed if plans change.

However, there are times when something in your plan goes off course and it seems like there's no way out. No where to turn. No way to move forward. And in my case, no where to live.

I am in a situation where there are complications related to my housing situation for this upcoming school year. Everything that I know up to this point was not confirmed due to poor communication by all parties. The part that destroyed me is that I couldn't control anything. In this situation, I am not a player that controls any part of this matter. To make it more complex, even as a constituent, I have my own constituents that dictate my moves.

It is difficult when things don't go as planned, especially when the situation affects your life so significantly. It is moments like these when your life is turned upside down and your strength comes into question. Before this moment, I never had a moment so life altering. This moment dictates my living situation, my finances and my entire future. I really wish I was exaggerating about the significance of this. There are so many confounding variables in this situation and so many people doubting a positive outcome.

As strange as it seems, I think it is important to give up for a minute, to realize that failure is actually a possibility. Failure is a means to learn humility and a way to avoid having an invincible mindset. Like I said before, I am not used to things not going as planned because I have supplementary plans. I must admit, there are times where I do have an invincible mindset and it is this mindset that can turn into a weakness. The possibility of failure counters this. However, it is important to get past the failure phrase and realize that things will just be different.

I see situations like these comparable to rubber bands. Strange? Just hear me out.

Every rubber band has different elasticity depending on the conditions it's been in. Some break when stretched out. Some aren't that flexible but can still be used in limited situations. The rest are very flexible. The tension put on the rubber band is equivalent to the hardships we go through. It is our mindset that determines our elasticity.

This situation made me feel like I would break and be like the first rubber band mentioned. It took me a while to realize I can make myself into the flexible rubber band and recognize the possibilities available. My fight or flight instinct kicked in once I had this realization. I went into overdrive trying to find an alternative and/or a way to fix the situation. My future is still uncertain, but this situation showed me what I'm made of.

Some people call it stubbornness. Others call it craziness. Me? I call it perseverance. This situation showed me I will not give up no matter what. I realized that the more stressful the situation, the more clarity that sets in.

We need situations such as this one in order to gain a full perspective of ourselves. The uncertainty shows us what we are made of and what our true personality is. Without such situations, we cannot truly know who we are.