Everyone Has a Story
Opening up and sharing your story is something that is difficult for everyone to do. It is not easy to allow ourselves to become vulnerable by sharing our story with others. In doing this though, we could reach out to someone who is going through a similiar situation and we may never even know it. Today, I am going to share a little of my story in hopes that it can help someone out there realize that there is so much more to life than what you're going through right now.
As a baby, I was adopted due to the fact that my birth mother was addicted to drugs. I never had to live with her, I was pretty much instantly living with my adoptive family since birth, other than when they had to finalize my adoption. Growing up, my parents were always very open with me about this subject and were always more than willing to answer any questions I may have had about my birth parents. I had never thought anything of being adopted because I honestly would forget because I have a loving family with caring parents and so, who cares about anything else? I had a good life therefore I was happy. I began to struggle with being adopted when I began to be bullied simply because of it. I was told I was things such as "unwanted" and "unloved" due to the fact that I was adopted. This hurt me and caused me to turn down a very dark road.
I never really was one to open up about my feelings to anyone other than very select few. The only people who knew at the time about what I was struggling with and how I was handling it, were my bestfriend Kelsey, and a family friend who was about 3 years older, Joe. I told them both anything and everything, and they were always there by my side through every single up and down I faced. They were the ones who were able to convince me to love myself enough to find an alternative way of overcoming my hardships than what I was doing to myself. I was finally learning to be happy and life started looking up thanks to Kelsey and Joe.
On September 21, of my freshman year in high school, Kelsey was tragically killed in an accident. This completely turned my world upside down. All the progress I had made with the help of Kelsey and Joe, was practically out the window. I went back to my old ways of dealing with my problems, which is something that I never have been, and still am not, proud of. Losing Kelsey, was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. Although I often went to Joe when I was feeling upset or something happened, Kelsey was the person I turned to first. She knew more about me than anyone. And its like in just the blink of an eye, she was gone. With Joe's, along with a few other friends' help, I was able to give up my bad habits once again and turn to a healthy way of dealing with my problems.
While this is not my whole story, it is part of what I went through in my lifetime that has shaped me into the person I am today. While going through these hard times was very difficult and tested my strength, I can now look back and say that I have learned from them. I have learned that these events that have happened to me in my life, make me who I am, and that is not only true for me. Every person we meet has a story behind them, struggles that they have overcome that has shaped them into who they are today. I hope that if anything, this post can help someone understand that, no matter how well you think you know someone, they have gone through something that you don't even know about. Every person has a story, and I hope that more people are able to one day tell their story to help others going through similiar events see that they can get past this. I thank God everyday for Kelsey, Joe, and all my other friends and family who helped me through the rough times in my life because Lord only knows where I would be today without their help and guidance.
Everyone has a story, do not be afraid to go out and share yours with the world! You never know who it just might help!
