Friends of Quinn

There has been a dark cloud over my head a few weeks now. It mostly started with my Godmother’s death and my dad’s memory decreasing, and other personal problems that I am going through. It’s not just me - many of my friends also seem to be going through a hard time. It inspired me to write about it.
 
Over the years, growing up with LDs, I’ve learned some lessons on how to cope with difficulties and tough times. 

One of the many things I have learned is how to deal with emotional pain. My godmother once told me "the only way to move forward is by accepting the emotional pain. If you fight it it makes it worse.” It’s kind of like getting a deep tissue massage.  If it hurts you need to breath through it.  Trainers tell you this when you are working out at the gym too.  If you hold pain in and fight it, it makes it much worse.  We have to accept pain to move through it.
 
Another lesson I have learned was by watching trees grow. Humans and trees are very much in sync with each other: sometimes after a storm a tree will lose a few of its branches or just have a broken branch still hanging, but it doesn’t stop growing. It continues to reach for the sun because it accepts what has just happened to it, and it stretches toward its source of strength. I have a close relationship with my family, they are a source of strength to me in tough times.
 
I am sure that what I have been through with my learning differences, they have made me a stronger person. I was bullied so badly that I have wanted to end my life. However, because I have made it through those hard times, I feel that I can make it through anything.
 
When we experience emotional pain, it may feel as if though we are dying on the inside, but the reason why we experience so much pain sometimes is because it is actually us growing, not dying. And growing in life can be painful, but beautiful.  It makes us stronger.