This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wilfrid Laurier chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
We are often reminded that this is our first time living. There is no rule book, or a predetermination of how our lives will pan out or rather what we will do about these unforeseen instances. We are told to dissect the lessons and take them with us going forward, and eventually, we’ll have a lifetime of lessons to pass on.
It may be our first time living with that we are forgiven your our learning process, but this is the
only live we are given, we don’t get to go back, replay and revise the occurrences of our lives, we
can’t go back and change what we said, or change what happened and how we felt, even if we
know that these simple changes would have the biggest impacts in the world we have created
today.
If in some realm we could go back and edit our lives, here are my revisions;
Asking for help doesn’t mean you can’t be independent
If I had the opportunity to go back and remind myself that being independent and self-sufficient
doesn’t necessitate doing everything alone and without guidance, especially where guidance is
needed. I have always been an independent person. My biggest aspiration is not to rely on others
to accomplish my goals. Where this makes sense, it also doesn’t we need other people to help and
guide us. This could be through education or employment, but also in life. If you are struggling,
the most self-sufficient thing you can do is recognize the need for assistance and support because
you are the only one who can make the changes you want to see.
Showing up is half the battle
Showing up for yourself and showing up for others can be simultaneously the easiest and hardest
thing to do. At times, it may seem that the best option is to be alone and reject the help others
may be offering, but allowing people to show up for you as you would for them in itself is
showing up for yourself. By acknowledging and being present in times both good and bad is
symbolic of the most important part of the process towards progress.
This time around, there will be no rehearsals or practice rounds. We are learning in real time, we
know that there will always be successes and failures and roads not yet taken. Where we may not
have a say in what happens, we have a say in our action and reaction, and whether or not we
allow ourselves the grace in the process.