People often see me as a girl who bends with the wind without breaking.
They see the surface: calm, collected, and seemingly unburdened. Yet they fail to see the pain that runs beneath my ribs.
Have you ever been lost in the midst of your own storm? Ever questioned your existence? Ever felt confined by your own doubt? If your answer is yes, then I wrote this piece for you, for us.
There is a certain comfort that comes with knowing you carry a spark within you, something rare and uniquely yours. Yet with that comfort comes a wind, one that hesitates not to extinguish that spark if it is not protected with determination.
As humans, we all possess the ability to soar. No one is created less than another. Though our paths may differ, our worth remains the same. So why compare your journey to someone else’s?
Fear has a way of making us forget this truth.
It whispers that we are behind. It convinces us that our failures define us. It turns delays into dead ends and obstacles into verdicts. It tells us that because something has not happened yet, it may never happen at all.
For a long time, I listened.
Years ago, I struggled to gain admission into the university. Heaven knows I put in the effort. I studied, hoped, prayed, and waited.
When my first attempt ended in disappointment, devastation tightened its grip around me. Still, I chose to keep going.
Then came the second attempt. I failed again.
That phase was the hardest of them all because I allowed the wind of negativity to enter. My thoughts echoed with despair, pain, anger, and doubt. Night became my companion, and many evenings ended with tears soaking my pillow.
Looking back now, I realize I was not only afraid of failure.
I was afraid that failure meant something about me.
I feared that every closed door was proof that I was not enough. I feared that my dreams were slipping beyond my reach. I feared being left behind while others moved forward.
Fear can be cruel in that way.
It does not merely show us obstacles. It magnifies them. It does not simply acknowledge our wounds. It convinces us they will never heal.
Yet even in the midst of that storm, something remained. Hope.
Not the loud, triumphant kind. Not the kind that arrives with certainty.
It was a quiet hope, the kind that whispers, “Try again.” The kind that survives another rejection. The kind that chooses one more step when giving up seems easier.
So I kept moving.
This time, I moved with steadiness wrapped in faith. I answered determination’s call and slowly realized that negativity had never offered me anything except emptiness. It had never brought solutions, only shadows.
When the opportunity came again, I sat for the examination.
And this time, I got in.
Today, I am proudly a nursing student.
My story may not mirror your own. Your storm may look different from mine. Perhaps your battle is with anxiety, grief, self-doubt, loneliness, or a dream that feels impossibly far away.
But storms share one thing in common. They make us believe that all we can see is all there is.
Beyond every storm lies a horizon waiting to be seen.
One day, the very struggle that made you question yourself may become the story that inspires someone else to keep going. One day, your determination to defy the odds may become fuel for another person’s flame.
So keep going, dear human.
Do not allow today’s worries to imprison tomorrow’s possibilities.
Release the shadows of the past. Embrace the present with courage. Trust that every step forward, no matter how small, is carrying you somewhere.
And when fear visits, as it surely will, remember that courage is not the absence of fear.
Courage is choosing to move forward despite it.
Before I leave, I want to share a poem I wrote for us:
Why strive for the cold hands of stagnancy,
when your feet carry the answer to your uncertainty?
Harken to these words, dear human,
the key to all you seek lies within.
Cry, if you must,
but do not drown in the pool of your tears.
Rest your burdens in the hands of hope,
and pursue your desires.
Though the journey may seem hard, know this:
There is always a spark before a flame.
Your future beckons you.
People need other people. You are not weak for wanting or needing support. If you’re seeking professional help, we encourage you to use TWLOHA’s FIND HELP Tool. If you reside outside of the US, please browse our growing International Resources database. You can also text TWLOHA to 741741 to be connected for free, 24/7 to a trained Crisis Text Line counselor. If it’s encouragement or a listening ear that you need, email our team at [email protected].