Hello everyone! Leon R.M. Auguste here with another piece. Today’s post will be a bit personal, but rest assured, it quickly gets better. If anything, this post is more of a reminder for you to put your life into perspective.
Over time, there’s a truth none of us can ever escape. And that truth is learning how we each will survive and maneuver through the world.
The first key thing we must all do is learn and understand who we are and what we have the potential to do. What is your potential? Well, that’s for you to uncover.
Failure is a part of us; it’s a part of our nature to attempt and sometimes fail at trying. At times, we may make an attempt and actually succeed at our end goal. Other times, we may fail miserably and need to pick up the pieces are leave the pieces scattered to the wind.
In the context of life, this can mean a myriad of different things. It can be the difference between finding “the one”; it can mean the difference between whether you make the varsity team in college or not. It can mean successfully getting a career worth fighting for [it’s evident none of us want to work, so what I’m talking about is your core passion(s) in life].
But what really makes a failure such a “failure” is our reaction to what happens to us.
You’ve likely heard this kind of phrase countless times before, but the truth is much harder to swallow sometimes. If you get pissed, sleep for days in your bed, or generally just lounge around and skulk at the fact that you didn’t get life to go your way, you will likely face a life full of unnecessary hardship.
I understand we’re living through unnaturally tricky times in a post-2020 world. Coming from a personal point of view, I’m currently $25,000 in federal student loan debt (which will accrue to a total of nearly $50,000 in twenty years, since that’s how long it will take for me to pay off that federal student loan debt with the interest included on my $42 minimum payments each month).
But I always put it in perspective. Why did I accrue that debt? It was because financial aid for my university did not cover everything for my cost to attend my senior year of college.
It’s temporary, just like every single thing in life is. Life happened to me late last year, as it did for all of us, and I’ve accepted my life’s lot with acceptance and dignity.
Sufficient to say, I knew I had to do two things. First, continue with finishing the last year of my college career as a student. Secondly, it is for me to continue working on my craft – which is writing.
For me, I managed to land a couple of copywriting freelance positions, so I’m already halfway to making writing a full-time occupation. This reality of writing became my base for stability in a very tumultuous and seemingly never-ending rock bottom in this new world.
To be completely honest, I still feel I’m barely getting my life back together. And even still, life for any of us is never truly stable.
So here I am, sharing this very personal part of myself with a complete stranger who I’ve never met in person. But in so many ways, talking with you has given me joy and has reminded me of the little things in life.
To the unheard voices of many, I stand with the disadvantaged. Because I realized how easy it is for those in positions of power to stampede and trample over the “everyday” person in our ever-faltering global society.
The only way anyone will ever attain a semblance of happiness is to be in tune with themselves, and ultimately, be in tune with each other as human beings. No amount of money, or debt, should change your outlook on life itself. Life is more than just money. Deal with the financial hardships as they come your way, and then move on as best as you can.
There’s no denying that there are countless lost souls in the world, traversing the world and following the rules that dictate our lives. But that’s because the world’s governments are making it incredibly difficult for people to retain their sense of freedom and dignity. Even if it’s a tiny bit of independence.
We must work together or fall as one. There is no in-between when it comes to protecting the innocent and naïve.
This realization and truth will set you free and help you realize that nothing is impossible to achieve. The only obstacle getting in the way between you and your desired future is how you deal with your past failures and how you move on. Make your own path, no matter how you manage to do it, and create a piece of worthwhile life for yourself. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and don’t limit yourself based on judgment alone.
For what we see is often not what it always appears to be at first glance…
Forever in Your Debt,
Leon R.M. Auguste
(Click anywhere on this sentence to view the source of today’s photo)!
Leon R.M. Auguste 