Little Lessons

I have been dealt a unique hand in life. Before 16 I was dealing with abuse, undiagnosed depression, undiagnosed anxiety, frequent panic attacks, unhappily married parents, attempted suicide, and my own version of failure to thrive. I struggled in school, I had panic attacks almost every night, and I prayed to God to end my life because I wasn't strong enough.

I also consider myself incredibly blessed. Despite how difficult my life has been, and despite the challenges I've had to face, I've been incredibly lucky. I had support through my struggles. I had people who believed in me, and I had the advantages of being from a family who could afford mental health care, college, and for me to never have to add struggles for food or shelter or love.

Every lesson I have learned in my life, I have learned the hard way. I inherited stubbornness from both of my parents, so some lessons had to be learned more than once. For a long time I was just outright pissed about my situation and these endless life lessons that were being thrown at me, but eventually, the big picture showed up.

By 25 I had learned a lot, and my life was happier because of it. One of the most important things I came to see was that I could use my trauma to help people. I could talk about my life, and hopefully help other people, young or old, learn some lessons the easy way, without pain and heartbreak.

So that's what I'm here to do. I'm here to turn pain into purpose, and hopefully to make life a little better for even one person. Over the next month I'm going to be sharing the ten most important things I've learned about life, and maybe, just maybe, you'll listen.

As an incentive there will be a lot of sass, some hilarious stories, and a sprinkling of smile worthy puns. So let the journey begin...