I know I’m not alone when I say that I’ve told myself before:
“I don’t know how I’m going to make it through this.”
But, you know what? I always do make it through, and I need to hold onto that.
The past couple of months has had me thinking about how we made it and continue to make it through these times of social distancing, schools being out, businesses being shut down, and the like. It also made me start reflecting on all the challenges life has thrown in my face and how I’ve overcome them all to rise above to greater things in this life.
The Things I’ve Survived Through
- My parents’ nasty divorce at 15
- Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes at 17
- Losing my car, working four jobs at once, and then seven months of depression at 19
- Unplanned pregnancy while single that almost took mine and my child’s lives at 23
- Being close to a mental breakdown at 25 with no family in town and an absent father for my child
- A year of severe depression at 28 I only survived because of my incredible other half and my daughter
- My mother’s accident that almost took her life but thankfully only lost her leg when I was 29
- At 31, my father being diagnosed with an extremely rare form of prostate cancer and given only a 5% chance of making it through the year (and he’s still here with us with no tumors returned!)
- Major car accident at 32
- Returning to grad school at 32
- COVID-19 right after my 34th birthday
Things I’ve Accomplished During All Those Years
- Graduating high school with Indiana Academic Honors and a 3.95 GPA
- Having a beautiful, healthy daughter that I love so much
- Having a partner in this life that is my best friend in the whole world
- Getting my Bachelor’s in Business Administration and HR, graduating Cum Laude
- Completing my first half marathon
- Finishing my last class of grad school for my MBA and having a 4.0 GPA
- Owning my own business
- Being a department head at my day job
This time in history is tough, but I know I’ll get through it. And, you will too.
I know my list of hardships doesn’t even touch what others have gone through, and I may not have accomplished as much as the next person. What’s important in this exercise is acknowledging our strength and resilience, then applying that to now and to forever.
What are the things you’ve accomplished in spite of the struggles of your life?
