In this day in age, it's easy to lose sight of what you believe in. We live in a world full of temptations, pressures, adversities, and moral ambiguity.
How do we stay true to ourselves in the face of all these challenges? My dad taught me a very important lesson regarding this matter. His premise was the charge of emotions. You can't make good decisions when emotions are involved. Unfortunately, this is a hard thing to turn off. It may help to make pro/con lists, give yourself time to calm down, and avoid rash decisions. I find that the longer I take to think about things, the more objective I'm able to become...sometimes. My cousin was also just talking about how difficult it is to stay on the straight and narrow these days. There are so many bad things in the world that sometimes it's hard to make the right decision. But he added that he feels at peace when he hangs out with my grandparents. 'That's all it takes. All I have to do is walk into their house and everything feels right. It's easy to lose sight of things, but when I see them and see how they live their lives and talk to them, it all becomes clear. It's like hitting a reset button.' It's important to find these people. To find people who will give you the courage, through either their words or actions, to do the right thing. To refocus your sights. To challenge you. To tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. One of my best friends has demonstrated time and again that it's worth it to endure hurtful words and hurtful people if at the end of the day you can tell yourself, "I didn't give in. I didn't fold. I stood strong. And if I had the chance to do it all over again, I'd do it the same way." Victory is being able to stand, battered, but not broken. Hurt, but not ashamed. And to continue to battle through this thing called life, we must surround ourselves with people who will build us up. Who we consider our friends speaks volumes of who we are. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but these aren't to dwell on; they're to learn from. Through being bullied, I've learned to stand up for myself and for others. From sadness, I've learned to laugh. Through teasing others, I've learned regret. From opposition and criticism, I've learned resilience. And from experience, I've learned optimism. Optimism and the ability to make the right decision and say, "Everything will turn out all right" is perhaps one of our greatest strengths. Side note: Today is my bestie's birthday!!
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