Can you overcome YOU?

My life has been a blessing. I owe so much to the struggles and failures I've faced in life, which have helped humble me, shape me, and educate me in how to manage myself in crisis. I'm of the opposite mind in feeling like I needed to overcome what others may have assumed was my future outcome. Sure, as kids growing up, our peers paint us in corners based on our families, our social status, the crowds we migrate to, the neighborhood we come from. But in the end, the only thing that matters, is YOU - and what you happen to believe about you, expect out of you, want for you and know you are capable of.

I grew up in a family, just like any other. But over time, that family crumbled. And around me, chaos built, life courses changed, friends/family became memories and survival wasn't always simple. During times of turmoil, in our lives, it is very easy to be led astray and to allow yourself to, suddenly, blame all your tomorrows on your yesterdays. It is very easy to be led to believe your course has been paved, while those around you decide who you are and where you place and what it is that is your destiny. It is very easy to lean on crutches/devices that will further cripple you, but allow you the scapegoat for why it is this way. It's very easy for one to fall into these self-deflating mental traps.

But it's also very easy to overcome it and be better from it. In my life, through all I have experienced, if I have maintained one thing, it's that I am what I make of myself and not what others decide to make of me. I have never allowed the opinions and foreshadows of my peers to dictate my next move, in life, or even be motivation to push me to want to prove anyone wrong.

Why? Because I didn't need anyone's approval to believe in me. I have always believed in myself and in my life. The good and the bad. And why is the bad bad, if we can learn from those times to be better prepared later? Life, for most people, is a roller coaster. If it were always easy, would it really be any fun? The challenge is in understanding when life is teaching us and then how we reference those moments in life.

Over my life, and from being one who tries to understand the moment, appreciate the little things, understand my conscious, and not allow emotions to dictate my decisions, I have realized, looking back, that I better appreciate the failures in my life for what they, eventually, allowed me to accomplish. I don't strive to fail, ever. But I have never feared failure. I will never allow myself to blame others for my own shortcomings, flawed decisions, or locked doors I've yet to open.

I have learned so much from failing and picking up the pieces and taking another step forward. I think, from failure, I've learned how to better succeed. And from that, it's important to never take yourself for granted. Never allow yourself to be swayed by the opinions and outlooks of your peers. Everyday is an opportunity to (1) better learn how you can overcome the assumed pressures handcuffing your ability to persevere; and (2) see yourself shine through even when the light seems its darkest.