In search of a topic for this article, I came across a memory I must have collected some time before the age of ten. This memory, unlike any others from my childhood, is desperately uneventful. I can’t quite remember who I was with or what followed this “event” but what really compelled me to this particular memory is how well I can remember what I was thinking. 

I was sitting at a small, once white, craft table in the corner of my sister and I’s shared, pink room on what I recall as a cool evening in late summer. I was coloring and daydreaming of the day I would finally turn ten. I can remember telling myself that once I reached that momentous age my life would be perfect. I don’t know why this age seemed to be the answer to all of life’s pressing issues at that age but I was certain if I could make it to that day everything would turn out okay.

Now, close to eight years later, I look back on my young self and can’t help but laugh at how simpleminded I was to believe ten would be my saving grace, to what seemed at the time to be dire. However, the truth is, I still do the same thing today. I continue to encourage myself each week or even day to get through the tough assignments, tests or chores. I tell myself quite often ‘you just gotta make it to the weekend’, just to be faced with another challenging week the following Monday. While this may seem like an endless cycle to some, I’ve learned, with reluctance, to embrace the issues I face each day and that no day is perfect. Although, I would like to think the issues I face today are more important than the challenges I faced at ten, I know pretty soon I will be looking back laughing at the things I stressed over at the age of 17 just the same. 

So for now, I greet each trouble with a little more confidence, knowing it probably won’t be the end of the world, but still with a little motivation to get me through it. I’m thankful for every challenge I’ve had the opportunity to face and I’m excited to see the new challenges the next chapter of my life presents itself with.