"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to
write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he
compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it." -Sir James Matthew Barrie
On occasion I stop and think about my life. I think of the things I've done, the things I haven't done, and the things I wished I'd done. At times I realize what I thought I would do, is so far from what I have actually done. Sometimes I think of the things I have done and marvel that I never thought of them before.
I often ponder if I had known back then what I know now, would things have been different? Of coarse they would. But how would I have known the things that I know now if I hadn't had the experiences back then?
I may not be very old, at twenty-three I certainly can't claim great wisdom. However I can say I have learned a thing or two in the last two decades. The first is this: Life is what we make of it. Be that good or bad. You can plan and hope and dream and work hard, but in the end some things will happen that you did not plan. Now you can either be angry with this or you can learn to accept it graciously.
The second thing I have learned is to not have regrets. I have made choices and done things that hindsight twenty-twenty I would probably not have done. I might have made different choices. If given the chance to go back I probably would have chosen different paths. But had I not made the choices I made I would have not learned the things I have learned, therefore not becoming the person I am today. The person I am is not perfect and not spectacular, but I accept the person I am and do not regret anything that made me this person.
Which leads to my last thing I have learned: Accept the person you are. You may not be the brightest, the most beautiful, the most talented, or the most athletic. But you are you. And as Dr. Seuss once put it, "Today you are you, that is truer then true. There is no one alive who is youer then you!"Be glad you are you. You can always improve what you are, but don't change who you are. It's important to realize that the person you are is far more important then what you wish you could have been. Because the person you are is the person who you are going to be forever, and it's time you realize that you are special in your own unique way. Be proud of what you have accomplished, and don't be afraid to become even better. Just make sure you stay true to who you truly are. Don't lose the real you to the world around you. The world wants us all to be a certain way. But that is petty and small minded of them. What a horrid place this world would be with out all the diversity of it's people.
Life throws us curve balls and we have to learn how to work with what we have. But don't wallow in the lost life you thought you would have, instead appreciate the things that made you the stunning person you are today. Because you are special. When you step out of your house each day and face the sometimes cruel world around you, just remember that you are becoming an even better person with each choice and decision you make.
