“Anyone can give up. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” –Unknown
I think about my life and all that has happened in the past six months. If I wanted to, I could use it as a crutch or as a reason to not get out of bed in the morning.
People would understand.
They would say, “She’s a mess. But that’s understandable. Her dad died. The guy she loved broke her heart. Her sister drives her crazy. Her mom lives far away. She doesn’t make that much money at her job.” There is a list of excuses that I can make for myself. And people will make those excuses for me. I have the choice to lean on those excuses — one arm on one side, the other on the other side and hobble through life doing the bare minimum. Or I can throw those crutches to the side and walk on my own two feet.
Still Standing by Monica is one of my favorite songs. In it Ludacris raps: “Still standing like the Statue of Liberty”. I love that line. That’s what I’m going to do: stand. Besides, who needs people to feel sorry for them? Certainly not me. I figure people are going to talk behind my back anyway. I’d much rather people say “Wow. I can’t believe she made it after all she’s been through.”
I’m not making excuses for failure in my life. Things are hard. A lot of things aren’t fair. I make mistakes. I get chopped and screwed. And in those times, I allow myself to scream in my car, cry in the bathroom stall or furiously tweet rants on Twitter. But after that 30-seconds to two minutes passes, it’s time to pull myself together and move on.
Every day I have a choice: I can make excuses or I can make progress.
The choice is easy. Especially when you have this memorized: Excuses are tools of incompetence that build monuments of nothingness and those who specialize in using them seldom amount to anything at all.
The truth is, I’m blessed. God has blessed me tremendously. It’s when I take my eyes off the blessings in my life and start focusing on the things I want or what someone else has, that’s when I get discouraged. Yes, bad things happen. But, good things happen too. I’m thankful for that.
Alissa Henry 
ALISSA. This is an incredible piece of reflection that literally gave me the chills. I’ve been going through a really dark patch over the past few months, and I’ve reached depths I never even knew existed, but reading the following lines may have helped me reclaim my will to press on:
“There is a list of excuses that I can make for myself. And people will make those excuses for me. I have the choice to lean on those excuses — one arm on one side, the other on the other side and hobble through life doing the bare minimum. Or I can throw those crutches to the side and walk on my own two feet.”
If you don’t already have plans for this, you should aim to get published. You were born to feel deeply, and then communicate those feelings, it seems (I feel this is the case for me, too). Unfortunately, this means we’re more likely to be stung by life a lot sooner, and a lot deeper, than others. Please know that you’re not alone–I am going through a lot of the same issues. Always remember: “the harder you fall, the higher you’ll fly.”
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You seem to be one remarkable and hard working young lady. God will continue to bless and reward you as such.
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