We all go through ups and downs in life. Triumphs and failures. I for one have definitely had my fair share of lessons learned.
Life isn’t always smooth sailing and amidst the waves, it’s hard to see what’s next. The best feeling ever is looking back and knowing that everything needed to happen in order to be where you are now.
Some of my biggest life lessons have been because of me, and some because of the choices of those around me.
- You don’t always have to be strong. When my grandpa died I felt like I needed to be the rock for my cousins. I knew what grief was and how to manage it. 6 months earlier I lost my grandma, and they had never lost anyone they loved until then. I took it as my personal role in life to be strong for them. Show them how to move forward in life with grief. How to be strong. However, when he passed a piece of me went with. I wasn’t strong. It hurt me more than I ever could have imagined. You don’t always have to be the strong one. The one lifting everyone. Sometimes you need to be lifted, and that’s okay.
- Just because someone doesn’t choose you, doesn’t mean you aren’t valuable. In high school, I went through a pretty hard break-up. At times I felt completely lost. Thinking how he really knew me and I still wasn’t enough to him. How would I ever be enough to anyone else? Getting older in life and seeing how some people just don’t like me, I’m able to move on from it. Without that hard break up, I wouldn’t have learned my real value. What I deserve and what I can offer.
- Not everyone has good intentions. Graduating high school I quickly fell for a boy who I thought was the whole package. He swept me off my feet and made me feel like a million bucks. A few weeks later things turned. He became manipulative and wishy-washy. I remember sitting on my bed waiting for a facetime call for 3 hours when he decided not to call. He had no problem posting on other social media and it broke my heart. You will come across people who claim that they will do anything for you. Who says they “love” you, but don’t really know what love is. Don’t get caught up in the lie. In the excuses and in the manipulation.
- There are so many amazing people, doing amazing things in the world. I love watching the news. I love knowing what’s going on around the world, the latest gossip, and political updates. However, watching the news you tend to only see the negative. I was seeing so much of this I had to stop watching it altogether. On Instagram, I decided to follow accounts that show the good being done in the world. The amazing things regular people like you and I are doing to change people’s lives for the better. It’s being done. There is still goodness and love. You just have to search for it a little harder.
- It doesn’t matter what you wear, or what you drive. The older you get the more you realize how non-important all the materialistic things are. I could care less what someone drives to Walmart in, and more about who they are on the inside. Be a good person, and do good and that’s the most valuable thing in life.
The lessons we go through in life get us to where we are meant to be. Keep pushing on. Keep smiling and keep being the amazing person you are. Don’t let the world take your smile.
All my love,
Talesha