Do NOT let others define you. It seems dramatic and you may not even think this relates to you but you’re wrong. Everybody gets fooled by this, even when they don’t know it. Humans have a natural ability to know what makes them happy. Even if us young adults do not know what we want to do in the future, we know certain things we enjoy doing. So let me ask you this… who has the right to tell you differently?
At the age of 18 my dad got into a bar fight and lost vision in his right eye. He was defending a girl that was being disrespected by a group of guys. He stood up for her and the guys said “okay, sorry”. Moments later, they turned around, and so did my dad, but what my dad didn’t know was that one of them was holding a piece of glass in his hand. When they called my dad’s attention, they through the glass in his eye, leaving him on the floor in pain, with no help. When my dad was told he was completely blind in his right eye, he was furious and in shock. When he walks in a room, he would not be able to see half of it, when he drives he would have no vision of the passenger seat or the person sitting in it. But this frustration did not make my dad throw his hands up in the air and give up. Not even for a second. He accepted it. How many people do you think looked at my dad and said he wouldn’t be able to drive? My dad was not going to let people look at him with pitiful eyes because he didn’t want that. He wanted to prove people wrong. He was not going to let people define him as weak or worthless. He had dreams when he was 18 and he wasn’t going to let anything, not even something like this, take those dreams away. So he went off to college in Washington, met my mom, fell in love and continued learning and following a career he truly enjoys (with plenty of driving!!). None of this would have been possible if he threw his arms up in the air and said he wasn’t going. He could have easily taken some time off, started college later on and stayed in Lima but then he wouldn’t be as happy as he is now. I know it, my family knows it and he knows it. So let me ask you again…who has the right to define you other than yourself? Follow the dreams you want and don’t let others tell you you can’t, because nothing will compare to the moment you prove them wrong. Don’t live in fear of disappointing others because the only person you will end up disappointing if you don’t follow what you believe in is yourself. Let yourself be the person who defines who you truly are, and once you’ve done that, follow your heart to what will bring YOU happiness.
1 Comment
Bon
11/24/2015 06:33:45 pm
Renny, this a powerful story that speaks volumes about the importance of believing in oneself. Life can throw at us some awful hurdles, but it all depends on how we react. The aspect I'd like you revisit is the disappointing others piece. Is this post about that? If yes how?
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