Life is hard y’all. It’s not easy and it never will be easy. Otherwise we wouldn’t be questioning our next steps. It gets rough, and that is the nature of life. The complexity of life is a topic that can be long opinionated on how to live, but it’s truly what you want to do and where you see yourself going. Why do you care how others view your life? They aren’t the ones making YOUR decisions. This is your life, and regardless of what you do, there is the light and the dark side of the cycle.

Life is an unwavering cycle that spins like your washing machine. It may spin slowly for a bit, and then it will spin rapidly when the good times roll. Life slows down in the moments we fight and grieve in pain, sadness, or confusion. When the good times arrive, life escapes us and we lose track of every moment. Between these constant cycles, there’s a fork in the road. The fork is an important portion of the road that continues the cycle. The fork is where decisions are made, and where you will most likely face happy times, or painful and sad times.

When you think you have it all figured out, and life is going well, life may come to a sudden stop. Surprise, there’s a fork in the road and your GPS doesn’t know which way to take. That’s because it’s your turn to take control and come to a decision on where you want to go. Is this pending decision easy? Probably not. Does it suck? Yeah, it probably does. Life is unfair, and we are challenged to face these decisions throughout our lives. Someone recently told me that in these moments you need to be selfish, not selfless, to reach your ultimate destination. That’s not easy for me because I put everyone above myself, which I’m sure a majority of you all do too.

Decisions are made everyday and we may not realize the impact of them on a daily basis. But it’s the decisions that alter our lives that live with us forever. These decisions impact you, and that’s the important piece. Yeah, it does impact others, but they’ll be okay. Will you be okay? Will you come out on top? If not, think long and hard again. If you can’t admit to yourself what the right decision is, then seek out your support system because they will likely say it until you do. You may lose somebody or something, but in the grand scheme of your cycle, how is that truly going to impact you?

It was hard for me to see that impact, to look forward and what I’ll become of it years into the future facing these forks in the roads. Now I’m learning, I’m progressing. My cycle is restarting as I search for myself and sometimes in that fork, you get lost. That’s OKAY. You’re allowed to get lost because guess what? You’ll rediscover yourself and you’re going to be better. Is it immediately? It never is. It takes time and you deserve that time. No one can rob you of that time, because this is YOUR life.

When the cycle resets you have a daring amount of questions to answer, but you have an extravagant journey ahead of you. And as you flip to the next page of your book, you’ll noticed the chapter ended, and you’re now onto a new chapter. As the pages flip you continually discover your new founded lifestyle. Now it’s your turn to decide where you’re going. Many of us like to stay hidden in the trenches for a while and that’s okay. People will be there to support you through your battles.

You’re allowed to be sad, to grieve, and to be in pain. It shows your compassion and way of life. You care about what you went through and what you’re continually facing. We all have emotions and we fight them all in different ways compared to others. Like a leaf, you’re always going to grow back as time passes. You’re going to fall, be scraped around and stepped on, but then you’ll grow back in gleaming ways to become healthy and strong again.

And when the time is right, you’ll be ready to take the road you choose to the beach where waves metaphorically describe the life cycle: they crash on the beach with rage and sadness, then retreat to their normality in peace and calmness, preparing for the cycle to reset. Every moment. Every day. Every year. Look around you, everything we see is a part of life and more often than not, they can teach you about this cycle. But once you’re ready, live in those moments and breathe in what is around you.

You’ll know when the time is right to move on and explore your next opportunities. Only you will know, and you’ll have those people waiting for you. It’s those who choose to wait and support you that matter the most. Hang onto those people, because you’ll need them in your life. People care about you, and they want the best for you. Take care of yourself, and enjoy your time with those that you have. Now, live in the moment, enjoy those moments, and seek out your happiness.

“There is a swelling storm
And I’m caught up in the middle of it all
And it takes control
Of the person that I thought I was
The boy I used to know
But there, is a light
In the dark, and I feel its warmth
In my hands, and my heart
Why can’t I hold on?
It comes and goes in waves
It always does, it always does.”

With love and happiness,

CJ