Nothing Lasts Forever by Nora

Nothing Lasts Forever by Nora - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

If I could give my past self a piece of advice, it would be that "This too shall pass." It is a pretty well-known saying, but it holds a special place in my heart. I am old enough to know that life can be pretty hard and unfair at times. But despite that, whenever something goes wrong in my life, I absolutely cannot take it. I would break down, go insane, and tell myself that "This will never end. I will suffer like this forever." I had that negative mindset for most of my teenage years, and it really caused me to have a bleak outlook on life. Sometimes I would think to myself: "What is even the point of life if it will just give me a hard time? Why should I even try at all in this life?"

During my 18 years of life, I have had to experience some hardships. Examples include: being overwhelmed with school and grades, family problems, mental health problems, and terrifying changes. During the more serious ordeals, I believed that they would never end. I thought that I was being punished in life for a crime that I didn't commit. My mind would be messed up, and I would feel hopeless for almost the entire time.

But fortunately, that mindset soon changed. I talked to my mom about my problems, and she told me that every problem that I have in my life will end, and that nothing is permanent. I just have to develop the willpower to solve that problem and overcome it. Then in the end, not only will the difficulty go away, but I will also come out a stronger person. As time went on, I applied this advice to my life, and whenever I would go through a challenging time, I would know that it won't last forever. If I could go back in time, that is one piece of advice that I would have given to myself. I would not have been so pessimistic about life in general if it had been said to me when I was much younger. Thankfully, I now have a more positive outlook, and I believe that experiencing hardships will make me a better, stronger, more positive woman than I was yesterday.