The journey through life is often described as tough, difficult, and grueling. It can also be one that’s exciting and exhilarating. You will have days where you feel on top of the world. You will also have days where you feel lower than low. The ups and downs of life can make us feel like flying, but everyone is bound to fall back down again sometime. It’s part of reality that’s hard to accept.

¨Monday is great, Tuesday sucks, but there’s always Wednesday. You kind of have to look at it that way. Tomorrow is a new day. Don’t get stuck in the past. Life is too short for that,¨ said junior Cora Valentin. 

Growing up, we are wide-eyed optimists; we are innocent and naïve to the dark edges of the world. That light bulb in your head can start to dim and those rose-colored glasses may start to fade away over time.

Happiness is not permanent, neither are the hardships of life. You will face roadblocks that may last days, weeks, or even months. You may face setback after setback of failing. It’s the cycle of life that we are forced to accept. But after a while, we develop a mental toughness, a set of armor we create to face the world. 

¨It takes time to get it right; it takes sacrifice and hard-earned will to achieve what you want. It’s all a process,¨ said Jimmy’s business owner, Chuck Curry

We learn to be resilient. We learn to be mentally strong. Whether you’re the person next door or the kid with a trust fund, everyone faces issues in life. It’s the cyclical cycle of the world, nobody has the perfect fairy tale life.

We all have dreams and goals, and we all want to be happy and live long fulfilled lives. Unfortunately, not everyone has that, people get stuck. Stuck in situations that make them go through the motions. Some are born into hard lives, some make bad decisions that force them to always be unhappy. 

¨I hope to make something of myself, go to college, and get a degree. Hopefully, get a good job. I want to do well in life,¨ said Valentin.

Look around at the people in your life, how many are constantly bitter and angry all the time? They’re always complaining or never satisfied with anything. They act burnt out and robotic. It’s why it’s so important to always strive for better.

We accept the life we think we deserve. Maybe it’s timing, maybe it’s luck, but people can get to a point in their life where they’re content and are at peace with everything. It’s getting to that place that’s the hard part.

¨Life is hard and unfair. But when good things happen, I try to hold on to those moments. Those moments are the reason I can push through the bad. ¨ said  Junior Madison Cottle.

You can achieve those dreams; you can raise that trophy over your head; you can get that job you’ve always wanted. You may get there early, you may be a late bloomer. Or the hard truth is you may never get there. 

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. – Micheal Jordan

It’s that wall that stops most of us and it’s all mental. Someone says to you you can’t achieve something, the people in your life that tell you time and time again you just don’t have what it takes. But they don´t know you, they don’t know what your passion is and how hard you work. But people do that, they love to label you and criticize you. 

It all comes down to you and you alone. You may have support from other people, but nobody will hold your hand through it. You´ve got to be tough and make the decision of whether it’s worth it to you. 

Never let someone or something tear you down from what you want in life. This may be the most hypocritical expression said of all time, but it holds meaning, it holds true. You have got to just keep trying, keep working. Let it be said that we all start off somewhere in life, it’s up to you to keep on going forward.