Overcome.

Everyone faces hardship in their lives. Life isn't made to be easy, it's made to be lived. Good can't truly be appreciated without some sort of negative to compare it to. These hardships have to be viewed as learning opportunities. A chance to grow. Whether it's a failed class, a personal loss, or the petty drama that comes with the act of "growing up," it hurts. It sucks.

I'm no stranger to hardship. My family wasn't very well-off growing up. I lost my father at a young age, and I've adjusted poorly to college. I'm also bi-polar, which makes things difficult at times. It's contained, controlled, and highly-monitored. It's still not fun.

As much as I'd like to cry and moan about the difficulties I've faced throughout my life, especially in the last year or two, tonight put things in perspective. I watched a friend go through her own inner-struggle, and helping her sort out her feelings was a chance to step back and regard mine. Watching her bravely fight a personal battle against the challenges of this scary thing called "life" helped shed a new light on things.

Hardship and strife are gifts. The ability to overcome them is a blessing. And from here, life isn't meant to get easier. You can't spend your life saying "college will be less stressful than high school," then "my career will be less stressful then college." That then becomes, "After I have some experience, work will be less stressful," which morphs into, "After that promotion, work will be less stressful."

Life doesn't get less stressful. It doesn't necessarily get easier. Your blessings pile up and your things to be thankful for grow. Loved ones, families, homes and hopes and dreams become reality. But the difficulties will always arise. Just like I'll always be bi-polar, life with always have curve balls.

Just overcome. Climb the hill. Get to the other side. Learn your lessons, and grow. That's what it's all about, after all. Live isn't made to be easy, is made to be lived.