Very recently, I found myself dealing with a situation that I never thought I would be in. It was one of those situations that makes you numb, flusters every thought that enters your mind, makes your hands shake, and your heart ache. And no, I’m not talking about the controversy over my last blog post. I’m talking about life outside of the Internet (shocker). Out of respect for the other people involved, I won’t be completely transparent.

This situation cracked my confidence a bit. And it is a situation that will only get better with time, honesty, willingness, and love. But if anyone out there reading this knows me, they know that I am an optimist before anything else. And that has kicked my ass a time or two, but I have never regretted my desire to see the silver lining. And even with this terrible situation that I find myself trapped in the middle of, I found that silver lining. I found out that in order to persevere through times that kick you to the ground and rub the dirt right in your face, you have to reach for the things that you can depend on without an ounce of hesitation. You have to reach for the things that have never once let you down. So I reached for cheerleading. I nearly jumped for it, hoping it would catch me as I felt the rest of my life falling down all around me.

And it did. I have been miserable at practice while dealing with this situation, but somehow, it gets masked when I am with my team. It gets pushed to the back burner for those hours on the mats where I get to push myself to my limits, test the endurance of my body, and gratefully put my life into the hands of girls that I know would never let me fall. I find myself laughing, joking, encouraging others, and building new memories that help make new wounds feel less painful.

Everyone goes through times in their life where they want to call it quits, stay in bed for days with the curtain closed, and simply allow themselves to be sad. If you’re someone who never wants to do this when hard times come your way…. please tell me how you manage to do so, for you are much stronger than I am. But when life throws these curve balls your way that take so much energy out of you, remember to reach for the things you can depend on. Whether that be a sport, a family member, a good book, a piece of chocolate, a video game, a pen and a journal, an iPod and a pair of running shoes…. whatever works for you. Grab it. Use it to push you. Use it to make you better. And use it to help you get to the next great place in your life, because it’s there. That next great place is always there waiting for you. Not all bad situations in your life are acceptable, but I truly believe that they are all forgivable. You just have to believe that you can do whatever it takes in order to get to those places that you know deep down are worthwhile.