Imagine That…

21 Years old in this photo not knowing how to tell my parents that what was supposed to be a milestone in most kids’ lives had felt like just another day. On the flip side of having already done things that a 21-year-old was meant to experience, there was a boy sitting in the shell of a man that never quite learned to grow up. There has always been a beauty in nature that my heart and soul have demanded I appreciate and truthfully, I think my mom knew that when she planned this beautiful moment in my life. Upon arriving here, I felt like I found an appreciation not only for the better side of life, but I learned to be grateful for the things in life that I had those other not so fortunate humans had to work their asses off to appreciate. A big part of recovering from internal destruction is looking back on the not so bad moments and realizing that there was light in the darkness even though our eyes were closed, there was hope in a realm of life that seemed closed off, and there was change waiting to be made with appreciation and self worth at its core.

I wonder sometimes how I can care about others more than I do myself. What makes it feel so good to give back to the world and so bad to try for myself. What makes life worth living for others while my monsters have their hands on my neck. It all makes sense to me now when I look back enough to understand but not enough to relive the torment. I have always had love and always had a support system, and I want to be exactly that for people that are going through moments in life where they don’t quite understand why these things are happening.

There is never an obstacle to large to cut hope off or make us fall short of putting up a fight. We will get knocked down because we are meant to know that we have the strength built into us to get back up and keep going. The peaceful moments in life come when your strength shows your demons that you are not one to stop and you are not built to give into their plans.

What will you do today to recognize your strength and what will you do to use it to always put up a fight and never give up or give in?!