One Chance at Life
The tragic events at Virginia Tech and recent tragedies in my personal life have seen my beliefs put into practice. I believe it is essential for me to not disregard or block out the pain but that moving on and learning from these tragedies is a part of life and to stay stuck in depressed emotions is to not make the most out my time in this crazy place.
From the death of a family member and a close friend’s loss I have learned a great deal about not only life but also myself. I have found that these difficult times worked their way into my mind until they caused an avalanche of realizations. The process of grieving is essential in coming to terms with the reality of a tragic event and I found that it created a detachment from myself. This detachment gave me a chance to look at my life objectively and see how other people may view me. In effect I came to realize a number of changes that I could make in my life to both cope with tragedy and to better my life in the future. My friend who is dealing with the recent loss of his father shared a similar realization with me in a conversation also saying that by making changes in his own life he knows his father would have wanted to see, it further helps him accept while at the same time distancing him from the tragedy of his father’s death and allows him to look back on the many positive memories.
Through tragedy, I have learned to look at my past in a better light. I used to cloud my good memories with regret or guilt but now I look back at every moment as its own individual mark made on me. I have come to enjoy exploring instances from my own past, contemplating motivations that led to them, and taking in every bit of appreciation and knowledge from them that I can.
Recent events have put my belief into practice and I stayed true to it. I have learned a great deal in only one month including much about even myself. Much of which, I believe, will continue to help me in the future as I continue my journey through the trials and joys of life.