Everyday we make choices that change our lives. The change can be as small as trying a new fruit or as big as moving across the country. Life itself is ever-changing with all of the choices we make daily. However, it isn't always our choices that make life change.

It seems at the worst times, life abruptly changes without your permission. An unexpected bump in the road hits when you least expect it. We can only control so much of our lives. The feeling of losing control can leave anyone feeling vulnerable and frustrated.

I've experienced so much change this summer. It wasn't the kind of change that I chose; it was the heartbreaking kind. Up until now, I've always felt pretty in control of my life. I was blessed enough to choose to go to my first-picked college. I'm choosing a major that makes me happy. But lately, life has taken me into a direction that I did not choose.

I wasn't prepared at all to handle these changes. I had been naive and blind to the possibility that something may go wrong. Now, I know that it's smarter to always realize that you aren't 100% in control. Life will pull the rug from under your feet. When that happens, all you can do is learn and grow from bad experiences.

I am a different person than I was at the start of summer. Uncontrollable changes do a lot to a person. I'm trying my best to make sure it turns out to be a positive, enlightening experience instead of a negative one. That's the scary side: you can't predict how you'll initially react to unexpected changes. I reacted in a way that made everything good seem like it was disappearing. However, you have to get past that initial reaction and look at the bigger picture. No, life is not always in our control. But that's not a bad thing.

Everything happens for a reason. God gives people what they can handle. It doesn't feel like that all the time, but you can get through it as I did. Realize that you can't control everything, and you aren't meant to. Change is natural and healthy. Your reaction is everything, so take a deep breath and know everything will turn out okay when life pulls you under.