Learning to Let Go

    "It's scary to face the real world and deal with issues.  She's an anchor for so many people, that of course you find a community in. But when you let go of the anchor, you start to drown. And nobody wants to drown, that's stupid. So you either keep holding on or you teach yourself to swim and let go."

In our own individuals lives there's usually that one source of hope we save for ourselves.  We need a way out of our real lives every once in a while and we find our escape in certain things, or people.  We hold onto that hope and soon enough it starts to consume us.  It becomes an even bigger part of who we are than we ever expected.  It started off as a distraction, a way to deal with what we were going through or experiencing.  As time passes we find ourselves overwhelmed by school, family, friends whatever it may be, so we turn to our hope.  We turn to it whenever we feel alone and lost and soon enough we don't feel so alone anymore. We begin to find ourselves again.  As a result we feel indebted to our hope. We don't know where we'd be without it.  It's become a part of who we are and we don't know how to survive on our own.  
    
    It's terrifying because that hope was the one thing we always had. The one thing that we always knew was there waiting for us when we needed someone, something, anything. The thought of not having it is unbearable and physically painful.  We've become so involved and attached that we don't know who or what we are without it.  We don't know how to go on with the idea that it's no longer a part of us.  We don't know how to move on, grow, or change without it.  We become even more lonely and lost than we've ever been before.  We put so much of our time, energy and sense of happiness into our hope that it feels as if all of that is ripped away the second we lose it.  
   
    As paralyzing as this can seem, at some point we will all realize that our hope can't save us.  Our hope can't solve all our problems and make everything better. Our hope can't snap it's fingers and magically make the world, our world, a place where hardship and rough times don't exist.  Our hope is just that, hope. It has no power over anything. You can't depend on your hope to make your world a better place. You have to learn to do that on your own. You have to learn to pick yourself up and dust yourself off.  You have to hold onto yourself. I want you to take a step back and look at yourself in the mirror. Whether or not you're happy with what you see, this is all you've got, you, yourself. That is who you spend the rest of your life with.  You know you better than anyone else knows you, even your hope.  
    
    Your hope can't predict how your life will turn out. Your hope can't do anything but do what it does best: be your source for hope.  I want you to take a moment and think about how you want your life to be. Who do you want to grow into, who do you want to become? Where do you see yourself in the years to come? The only person who can get you where you want to go is you.  It's good to have something or someone to reassure you, of your path of your abilities, but you need to find a way to get yourself to that place of self-assurance.  Let your hope be an added source of happiness, not the only source.  You can't hold onto it forever if you want to live a life you're proud of.  Take your life into your own hands and make your goals a reality.  Want to be a photographer? Buy a camera and capture the beauty of the world and those living in it. Want to write? Start a blog, grab a journal, read! Want to ace that midterm? Study! You can't expect your dreams to fall into your lap. No one is going to hand them to you.  You have to want them with every fiber of your being. You have to be willing to put yourself out there.  You have to be willing to receive rejection after rejection. You have to experience failure in order to enjoy and appreciate success.  Nothing and no one can save you from the disappointments of life.  But you can be your own anchor. You can destroy your own demons. You can be there for yourself.  As humans we are constantly evolving. Things change and affect us in ways we couldn't imagine. But we are strong and we are capable.

Be your own anchor.
                                                                  Never forget the essence of your spark!