Hey there! Let me start off by saying my life is pretty great. Now I don’t mean to sound full of it, but seriously. Before I make my point, I want you to know that I am aware of the blessings in my life. I have a secure support system. I have a mother and father, 3 brothers, 2 sisters, brand new nieces and nephews. I must introduce you to these people because they are the foundation of my life. My mom loves to tell me the story of when they first brought me home from the hospital. I was sitting in my carrier and had 12 eyes staring through my soul. My mom always says my facial expressions tell it all. Apparently at that moment, I was thinking “What a bunch of crazies! Where in the world am I?!”. Little did I know, those crazies would help get me to where I am at this moment; in my last semester of graduate school. I am about to begin internships in a few months and will graduate with my master’s degree at the age of 24. Every tear, complaint, struggle, success, and goal reached, those crazies were there to listen and provide support. After calling my mom 4 times a day to tell her every detail of my life, I decided it was time to make rotation calls to my 7 other supporters.
Now that we have some background information, let’s get to the point! From the outside looking in, my life is pretty amazing. But I went through a period of my life where I was lonely. Not the kind of lonely where your roommate leaves for the weekend and you’re stuck in a big empty apartment by yourself for a few days. I mean a kind of lonely where no matter how bright the sun shines, you are surrounded by the darkness. A lonely where no matter how far someone reaches out to you, they continue to feel worlds away. A lonely where all the white walls from your childhood bedroom filled with your hopes, dreams, goals of being a beautiful princess in a purple dress with prince charming on his way, crash through the floor and are replaced with black emptiness.
I am here to tell you that I felt that loneliness. But I survived it. I broke through those black walls and found the sun shining again. It shines much brighter now. There are still struggles to overcome, but each day proves to be another chance to learn and grow. To heal. So how did I do that? The answer may change for others. But for me, it was God, time, and patience. It took me 2 years to realize I was asking for help in all the wrong places. The moment I reached out to my creator was the moment I found hope. I would like to say it was a quick fix. That I asked him for help and he healed me completely that night. But it did not happen that way. It was an uphill battle and continues to be each day, but it has been worth it.
I suppose the point of this story is that everyone has a story. The lady you held a door for at the diner, the girl in your cohort who has all of her assignments completed a week in advance, the wild boy who revs up his truck in the middle of the night. They all have stories to tell. They are all fighting an invisible battle. Maybe a simple “hello” and a smile will put a crack in their black wall and allow the light to shine through.
20 THOUGHTS 
Leave a comment