Fearing the Unexpected

I do fear the unexpected. It's scary. Curveballs thrown no matter their speed are bound to catch you off gaurd. Even the good things are going to give you the feelings of surprise, nerves, and fear.

The last two weeks have been  weird,  hard even. I really have started to realize that this weirdness, is actually life. When your young, things happen and it blows by fairly quickly because it typically is unimportant in the big scheme of things. When you ar older and your "big kid" eyes start to really become clear, bigger problems present themselves.

I have always been told in times of drama with friends, teams, schoolwork that out of the school hallways, all that stuff doesn't matter. Whether or not we have a team dinner after tryouts or losing Homecoming or wearing the same dress to Formal, it. doesn't. matter. When life, real life, throws you something bigger, that thing you overreacted about before becomes so miniscule, so insignificant.

Those small events are important. They are the "speed bumps" to getting you ready to handle those giant Redwood Tree trunks in the middle of the road. Despite what people say, you can't take away how adversity makes a person feel, how trouble makes a person feel, how rock bottom feels.

The great thing about humans is that we are warriors and we are powerful, no matter our position in life and society. We have these incredible brains and imaginations and are able to dream and achieve those dreams. We also have this incredible ability to love and support and believe in and forgive those around us.

Some people look to faith to solve their problems, some look to celebrities, some don't try. I believe that the only thing you need is your own strength and the support of those whose loyalty beams. Even the biggest problems aren't that big. I promise. There will always be something bigger (That seems intimidating) and you can look to the strength and the integrity that you have used in all situations before.

Two years ago, after my aunt got diagnosed with cancer and found out it had spread, her spirits never seemed to waver. I asked her about this and she said, "I just play The Glad Game". I had no idea what she meant and that night she, her daughter, and I all curled up in bed and watched Pollyanna, an old movie from the sixties. At the end, we all simultaneously were sobbing. The Glad Game was a game that the lead character, a child, played and ultimately inspired all of the people in her town. It was a simple game where the objective was to find all the things to be glad about in a situation that maybe wasn't so great.

It's hard to look for the good or the glad. My aunt was glad that she had everyone together at Christmas, that the cookies we made didn't burn, that her dog had stopped going to the bathroom on the carpet, and that even though her hair was gone, she could sleep in longer in the mornings.

Vince Lombardi once said, "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

So, in the darkest hour:
Keep going,
Go hard,
Know that you may be wrong, but you are never wrong,
And play The Glad Game.