When you fall you usually have two choices; give up because you are hurt or get up and brush off that pain and keep moving forward. As an adolescent I experienced many things that hurt me in the past but aided me to become the person I am now. I realized there are people in life will try to do everything to get in your way of happiness. I believe that you shouldn’t let your bad experiences or people hurt you, but benefit you.

Everyone in life has bad moments. It’s what you do in those situations with that determine what type of person you are. As a child I was exposed to events that no child should have gone through. When I was a child I witnessed my father being incarcerated. Instead of being in disarray and overwhelmed of being exposed to such event. I manage to deal with such situation in a proper and non chaotic manner. I fully comprehended what was occurring around me.

It took a big toll on my family. The aftermath was horrible. I had to become an emotionally strong person to support my family. Even though I was still young, I had to teach myself how to deal with similar situations in a sophisticated manner, not only for myself for my family, as well. So, instead of blaming people and pointing fingers, I matured. I had to focus on helping create happiness for my family, and most importantly myself.
Life is not fair. It’s something that I understood a long time ago. In light of the fact when I was a child I was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor. I didn’t think it was something that would impact me the way it did. Then I grew in ways that were incomprehensible to me. I wasn’t aware I was different from all the other children.

However that wasn’t the part that affected me the most. The most crucial part that really affected me the most was the criticism and physical pain that came along. The abuse came from everyone who I was supposed to trust; teachers, counselors and even “friends”.  I learned you must trust in yourself in times of need, because of that fact that even if someone seems as if they care, in reality they may not. Some people should not be trusted when it comes to your emotions I knew there wasn’t much I could do. You must rely on yourself to get through the tough moments in life.  Because there’s not always someone there for you in a time of need.

What I learned from society is to be you by fitting in. You must aspire to be liked and accepted. That sort of beats the purpose of actually being you, doesn’t it?  There was a time in my life when I was convinced that fitting in was the only option. The hard part was that I couldn’t seem fit in, no matter how much I tried. On the other hand being an outsider was more benefitting than it seemed. The more I was ignored the more I learned.

By simply watching everyone that surrounded me I could tell more about someone then I could by speaking to them. I learned that people who tried too hard to fit in only made themselves look like a fool in the end. Taking in this experience made me a better person. I realize that I will never fit in because I was never meant to. I refused to take the criticism of arrogant beings that are insecure about themselves. I was born to be different, and I don’t need anything or anyone to tell me otherwise.

Understanding yourself is key to growing. I may have not fully completed that, but it is a steady process. That is why my hardships are far from over. I’m using what is what I have now to help me for what I might face. There are times where I cry and feel like giving up. Looking back at this point in my life I appreciate everything I went through. It made me into a better person and a very wise one at that. I understand that you must go through hardships, to get stronger. My whole experiences I developed a sense of individuality. I am myself and I will not change that for anyone.