@charmingcherry08 10 February 2021 more from that month

A Survivor For Two Decades

**Life has been challenging for me.** It let me feel every ***single pain*** and ***disappointment*** and made me take a glimpse into my ***darkest side***. I have been fighting since the day I was born, and I have ***survived two decades*** now. I just **turned twenty last February 8**. It means that I am a survivor. I didn't celebrate because I was born that day but instead observed that I already survived two decades of my life and still *counting for more to come.* In twenty years, it was like riding on a **rollercoaster**. Sometimes, things are getting **messy** that I didn't know where to hold on to. I received **rejections** too many times. Maybe not through job interviews, but life alone could give you **sacrifices** also. Like when my playmate does not want to play with me before when I was still a child. My teacher dismissed my school project when I was in elementary. And it comes with the worst rejections you will ever experience when you are **growing up**. It becomes **worse every year** and more complicated. Who says **disappointment** did not come around? It's like it won't leave your side. We can encounter disappointment every day. Just like how disappointed I am whenever my mom doesn't buy me a toy before. Since years are passing by, the little disappointment I am feeling back then grows more prominent. It comes to disappointment to how my decision went, and disappointment for failing as a person. I had so many **sleepless nights**, from doing my school activities during grade school to sleepless nights caused by **anxiety**. I could not recall the things that kept me awake back then because it doesn't matter, not until I have to face the **darkest side of myself**. Being a **survivor for twenty years** gave me many lessons that I will take with me throughout my **journey**. I saw how **cruel** the world and people could be. I saw *terrible sides of people*. I saw who's real and not. I saw everything. ***Life opened my eyes on purpose for me to see these things that will make me realize how important it is to learn how to stand firmly alone***. I learned a lot from my teachers and professors, and the people who came in life to teach me a lesson. I made a list of what I learned for the past two decades of my life, and I am glad to share it here. **People come and go.** I believe that people come and go. If you have someone with you now, ***cherish the moments and memories*** you are making with them. Make it worth the while because you don't know when they are going to ***leave*** you. If they ***stayed***, you are lucky, but if they want to leave, ***let them go***. If someone left, there is someone better going in. It is how life works with us. We need to learn that ***not everyone in our lives will stay***. People come and go indeed. **You have yourself in the end.** Even on a long day with friends, classmates, or family, ***you only have yourself***. I learned to set this standard where I won't love someone else more than I love myself. If you think it's selfish, then let it be. For me, being more ***assertive*** and ***wiser*** will protect you from being vulnerable, and no one could ever ***break you into pieces***. You have to learn the mindset of "***it's just you in the end***." I have many friends, and I trust them, but not as much as I trust myself. I needed to understand this concept because I know that I have battles that I need to ***fight alone***. I have struggles that come inside my ***head*** and ***heart***. I have to fight on my ***own***. Learn how to ***stand alone*** because you have yourself in the end. **It's your life. Focus on it.** ***I live my life the way I wanted***, and it's not wrong. It is my life, after all. I am focused on ***satisfying myself*** by doing the things that I want without hurting others. I focus on being the ***better version*** of myself because that is where I should behead. I focus on my ***life goals*** and making sure I overcome every process it has. It is my life, and I need to focus more on it than on others' life agendas. ++++++++++++++++++++ **Thank you so much for getting here. It means you really read my article. I hope you found it interesting. If you have some comments, you can freely compose it down.** ++++++++++++++++++++

— @charmingcherry08