When life gives me lemons, I ask why they were given to me. I know most people would say they'd make lemonade, but that means they'd have to have more ingredients and some way to cool it down. I like to look at what I've been given and see the reasons behind the gift of life, rather than make a swift decision on what to do with those sour fruits.

Experiences of life are the lemons, and the old cliché has meant that you must make what you can of what life has given you, the so-called hand you've been dealt. But I see the meaning slightly differently than most.

To me, this means that all of your experiences and circumstances are meant to be acted upon straight away, since you know the identity of what's been given to you (the lemon) and what exactly you can make of it (lemonade). But I believe that there are too many things in life that might seem like they are lemons, but end up being limes that were spray-painted yellow or oranges that you glanced at quickly without realizing their true color.

There are also many different ways you can use a lemon. Sure, you could make lemonade, but you could also make lemon bars with your friends, and we all know that things you make with laughter and friendship and love turn out that much better.

So why limit yourself to that one idea? Why should I say that, in this specific situation, I'll do this exact thing, when I haven't even had the chance to take the experience for what it was and then decide what to make of it? I'd much rather let those experiences happen as they will, and then try to make what I can of them. That could be something as simple as lemon water or something unique that no one has ever even thought of before. So instead of keeping myself in a one track mindset, I'll take a good, hard look at those lemons and see what they want to make of themselves, and how I can mold them into something that will make me an even better person.