Life…it really begins after you think

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I know this post is NOTHING like what I usually write about here, but something happen last night that made me want to find some way to talk about it.  SO, since I have this forum, I will use it…if you think that it will help someone out there in some way, please feel free to share it.

Kids…I know that there is a demand for you to fit in, be popular, be accepted and be liked. But lets face it, some of us are just square pegs that don’t fit into the round holes very well. It’s not that we do anything wrong, it just sometimes feels like we don’t do anything right. You will NEVER be liked by everyone and you will NEVER be great at everything. Growing up seems like the longest journey you will ever have. But, trust me…it flies by and one day you will look back and wish you could go back and slow it all down and maybe do things a little different.

I was a horrible student all through high school. I was a decent athlete, but not a star. I was not one of the “popular” kids. I could transition pretty easily through the groups. But I do remember always wanting to be like all the popular ones. And I am sure, that there were people who wanted to be at my level who weren’t even noticed by many others in high school.

What makes people accepted in high school or, on the other hand, what makes people rejected, is rarely ever what really matters in life. LIFE…it’s something that you haven’t even begun to experience yet. When I was in high school I thought I knew everything that mattered. Now, in my 40’s, I know that even now, I am still learning so much. I know that what I know now is way more than what I thought I knew then, but isn’t close to what I know I will learn in the days, months and years to come.

Being popular, gifted, a star athlete, smart, pretty or handsome are superficial things that in the end really don’t have any bearing on your potential. Friends fade, our bodies fail, our looks change and our minds fail over time…but who we are…what we stand for…what we value…THOSE are the things that will set us apart as we grow and learn.

So, yes, it seems like there isn’t a point right now to why you would continue on this journey of life. It may feel like you are alone and that going on seems meaningless. But, life as you know it is not the life that matters when it counts.

Someday, you will have a child that holds your hand and thinks the whole world revolves around you. Someday, you will have a career that brings meaning and value not just to you, but that makes the difference in someone else’s life. Someday, someone will love you and they will get lost just looking into your eyes and you will know that you are the most important person in the world to someone.

Don’t ever think that you can’t go on living life, until you have at least lived life. High school is 4, maybe 5 years, 6 for some 🙁 . When you are 20, you will have spent about one quarter of your life there. When you are 30, high school will have been a bump in your time line.

Live life, love yourself and hang in there…it gets so much better.

One day you will look back and realize that what you have gone through has made you who you are today. Strong, resilient and powerful.

“Illustration © Jack Hunter (www.jackhunter.net) – used with permission”

About Tim Burrows

Tim Burrows was a sworn police officer for 25 years with experience in front line operations, primary response, traffic, detective operations and supervision. He has training in a broad spectrum of policing responsibilities including, IMS, Emergency Management, computer assisted technology investigations, leadership, community policing and crisis communications. Tim is available to assist you with your social media program and communication. Click here to contact him http://bit.ly/ContactTimBurrows
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12 Responses to Life…it really begins after you think

  1. Mike van Mil says:

    Wow I can really see some parallels in our history as well as in our current lives! Thanks for sharing!

  2. This is AWESOME!!!! TY

  3. Pingback: Life…it really begins after you think | emsmike

  4. Mike van Mil says:

    Reblogged this on emsmike and commented:
    Great thoughts here!

  5. What an excellent read Mike. Thank you for sharing, and I would love to put this on the Life Joules account. It really put things into perspective…

  6. Timothy M. Smith says:

    Good for you for putting in words the fact that our lives are measured in many years rather than single events. We are all square pegs trying to fit in round holes. If we were not, well, we would all be the same and life might be pretty boring. Teen life can indeed be some of the best years and the toughest. There can be swings either way. But don’t get too caught up in the moment as it is also one period in life. There are so many more.

    When I look back, there were the most amazing moments and there were very difficult ones. But I smile looking back at each. Those moments came and went, but helped define the person that I am today. Live and see the total. Only then can you truly get a glimpse as to who you are as a person.

    Thanks for posting Tim!

  7. Trish Mackey says:

    Well said! Sage advice and a great perspective. My oldest had a hidden mental disability and was bullied every day of his elementary and higschool years, and yet he passed with honours and is now in 3rd year of college. He is a survivor who stands for all the right things and has seen some of the “popular/athletic” classmates fall by the wayside with no goals, ambition and their lack of morals. Time is the great equalizer.

  8. Thanks for your post Tim! It’s so true that the beginning of life can be very difficult. I found highshcool very challening, but luckily I made it through. As you said, it does get easier as you get older. If we have an opportunity to mentor kids, we have to remind them to hang in there, it WILL get better.

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