It's the first post in this blog, and most people start with an introduction of sorts. I'm going to be that odd person and do pretty much the opposite. I'll share a bit about me, of course, but I'd like to address something that's been bothering me for quite some time, and is the entire reason (almost) that I decided to start writing for this blog.
For about a month now I've been contemplating this, and I figured that if the idea was still running through my head a month later, I might as well make the plunge. The thought that's been plaguing me the most though, is how everyone is a victim. Woe is them, life is so hard. And how the people who truly do have it hard don't complain. I'm serious here! Listen close to the people around you, and you might see it. And if you're one of the people who is perhaps overlooking things you should be grateful for in life, perhaps this will help you to sit back and see life as the beautiful thing it is.
We all have problems. I know this, you know this, even children know this. But how we look at things makes the big difference.
I'd like to say that aside from minor episodes, I am a very happy and upbeat person. I've been told on more than one occasion by people that being around me is enough to make them happy, and my bubbly disposition is contagious. Being around me seems to ground people, and make them more optimistic. When my high school art teacher told me that one should live to make every day fun, I took those words to heart, and I must say, it does wonders.
But I wasn't always this way. It took a lot of hard work to get to where I am, always happy, always smiling. Well, for the most part at least. No one is that perfect. And if I chose to, I don't have to be this happy either.
My life is far from perfect. I was not one of the best human beings ever put together, that's for sure. I inherited a lot of my father's genetics, so I have a lot of issues. The biggest one is my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). For those who don't know, this is an intestinal problem that has no cure, and the side effects from the medications (that may or may not help at any given time) are not worth taking them. I've been dealing with it since I was 12 years old (at the time of writing this I am 21), and it's been a continuous uphill battle. Imagine a world where at any given moment, you could be in crippling pain from your abdomen. We're talking bad enough to make it difficult to breathe. It's like having your insides eaten away by acid. It took me six years and a lot of trial and error to finally figure out what foods I could no longer eat that triggered it. Eight years to really get the psychological side of it down to help stop my emotions from triggering it as much. And unfortunately, there really isn't much I can do about the weather, which sometimes can also trigger it. Food, emotions, and weather are the three big factors with IBS, but it can just hit at random too. Still, after eight long years I'm finally not suffering as much as I once was.
I don't have great hips, either. My growth plates got a little screwed up when I was little (there's a medical term for it but hell if I can remember what it is), and so it stunted my growth. I don't make five feet (and I don't particularly care), but the issue lies in that my body isn't really proportionate to itself. So my hips don't like to stay in socket all the time. To this day I also still have issues with my feet from it too, where the whole problem originated.
From a bad volleyball coach, I ended up damaging my knees. And now they crack and ache. Actually, most of my body cracks and pops, but the knees are the worst.
I have terrible eyesight too. I am monocular, so I can't see 3D and my depth perception is severely lacking. If I take my contacts out, I'm legally blind. And when I was 17 I almost went blind in my right eye from a bad ulceration. To this day no one knows how I not only didn't lose my sight, but actually gained it all back to where my current prescription was at the time. Just one of life's little mysteries I suppose.
I also have terrible hearing. Blew that by being in the middle of a girl fight screaming match. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. So I really can't hear how loud I truly am, and there are certain tones at normal range I can't hear. And yet there are other tones in ranges one shouldn't be able to hear that I pick up clear as day. Like the sound of a TV that is on, but just the screen. No cable or anything else. God that is the most annoying sound ever.
From my mother, I have anxiety. From my introverted past, it has developed into agoraphobia. The kind that makes it so if I feel trapped, I freak out. So I can't do cities or buildings that have no windows or open space. But sometimes you have to deal with it and do it anyways.
I also carry the burden of both clinical and seasonal depression. I've been suicidal, and I've attempted to just starve to death. It's not a fun way to live, let me tell you what.
And of course there are tons of other little things too.
So with all of this, every day, one might look and say "Holy heck, there's no way I could do it." Because most people who've never encountered it could. And people don't understand how I'm so happy, and always moving forward.
There was a time in my life where I let my IBS cripple me. I didn't go anywhere or do anything because I lived in fear of what would happen if I had an attack. And I pushed people away. I grew up bullied and picked on, and didn't have many friends. I went through life's struggles. I've suffered the economy, and I've seen what it's done to people.
But in the end I'm standing on top. The big question is why, and it's the point I'd like to make.
If I wanted to, I could easily always focus on everything that's wrong with me. I could always say "Woe is me, I can't go out today because my knees hurt." Or because I couldn't sleep last night, my stomach was bad. Or out of fear of something else. I could let all these issues consume me, until I didn't do anything, and then let the depression feed off of it and do the rest.
And that's another thing, I don't take medicine for the depression unless it gets really bad. That's because I've found regular activity and things I enjoy keep it at bay. And since I'm not giving fuel to the fire, it can't flare up at any old time, either.
Instead of being consumed by all these problems, I look forward and say I can do what I want, when I want. If my stomach flares up, I'll go home then. If I get anxious, I'll do some deep breathing and get myself out of the situation. If my knees hurt, I won't walk too much. But I'll keep moving forward.
I know that I have a lot more problems than most people. But I know I have a lot less than others, too. I work with a guy who has leukemia, and he is probably one of the happiest, funniest people I know. If he hadn't mentioned that he was ill, I never would have guessed. And his children are two of the most adorable kids you'll ever meet.
So when I see people out there who complain constantly that life stinks, and they just can't catch a break. Or that they're always catching colds, or how bad their headache is. Those people who just complain because they want pity, I shake my head. It seems like everyone these days is to be pitied, and they're worse off then the guy standing next to them.
What I pity is their lack to look at all life has given them instead. People these days would find the world looks a lot better if instead of concentrating on all the bad things, they concentrated on all the good. It's why I can smile every day, and make other people smile too. I see everything I've gone through as just having made me stronger. And most people I know with life-altering issues are the same way. They push forward and live the best possible lives they can.
And everyone out there who takes life for granted should really look at those people who aren't that probably could, and learn a lesson.
Life is what you make of it. So make it happy. Live without regret. Fill your world with things and people who make you happy. Good things will follow, because happiness begets happiness.
Whoever said misery loves company wasn't lying. But it works in the opposite effect too.
So if you want to see the world in a bit more rosy light, just change how you look at the world. Don't see it for all its faults, see it for all its potential. You'll be much happier, and you won't be part of the heard of people making themselves out to be victims.
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