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Being Grateful… Even When it’s Hard

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SJSU chapter.

We’ve all been there. It’s the sense of being stuck or in a bad place and not knowing how to get out or the feeling of being less than and inadequate. If we want to admit to it or not, we have all been sucked into a bad place at some point or another where it was hard to get out. Maybe you studied for a test that you felt amazing about, only to find out you failed. Or you and your significant other broke up and while you had hopes of getting back together with them, you find out that they are already seeing someone else. We don’t ask life to put us in these situations, they just happen naturally because that is how life works sometimes. What I am trying to get at is that even though sometimes it can be excruciating to get past these hard times, the one thing that helps to get through them is to not detest them but to embrace and be grateful for them.

You are probably looking at the last line going, “What the heck is this girl talking about?”

When we go through hard times, whatever it may be, we feel a sense of loss or hopelessness. When we are in that deep state, it is hard to get out. Some of us get out of the feeling by talking to friends or family. Others get snapped out of it by going outside and getting active. Others do not know how to cope with the pain just yet and stay in it for who knows how long. What usually doesn’t come to mind during this feeling is the feeling of hope or gratitude. When we go through hard times, it is tough for us to be grateful, especially if what has been happening has hurt us in a big way. What we fail to realize is that being grateful for hard times is what we should be doing and should have done all along. Pain and suffering is inevitable to this life, but it is how we choose to go through it that we should change. When something doesn’t’t go our way, we should be grateful, even if it hurts. That boy that dumped you? Maybe he wasn’t the right one for you at that time. The test you failed? Maybe that was a sign to show you that maybe getting help from a teacher is needed.

When life comes in and throws us for a curve, we should be grateful, not woeful. It is all about our perception of these “negative” events that puts us in bad moods or, these dark spots which seem never ending. As someone that deals with anxiety on a daily basis, I have slowly learned that being grateful for the things that happen in my life gives me a better insight to my life, my anxiety and the pain that comes with it.

Life is full of ups and downs, it is just how we choose to view them. We can either grow and learn or fall and suffer. It is only up to us and our thinking.

Hey there, my name is Taylor Jones! I am a senior at San Jose State majoring in journalism with an emphasis in photography. When I am not working on my school's broadcast team, I am either working at my local coffee shop singling espresso or traveling to SF to take photos. My other interests include knowing people's zodiac signs, signing along to my favorite song on long car rides and swimming in the ocean.
Tiana is a senior at San Jose State University and she is learning to take each day one step at a time while adjusting to life in the Bay Area. She's often watching YouTube videos on D.I.Y projects or hair care, but majority of the time she's watching Parks and Rec episodes while pretending to do homework. In the midst of all that homework dodging she's also casually planning her dream wedding.