We all have our bad days when we wake up and things just aren’t right. And those weeks that seem to drag on forever and it just feels like a pit of hell that some cruel, evil being has bestowed upon you. Those months where you just want to call it “March Madness” or add “Madness” after the name of the month, just because it was overall awful. And then finally, there are those years where you just look back and toast to a better year this time around.
But then you hit rock bottom. Nobody’s ever prepared to hit rock bottom…until you hit rock bottom and you really have nowhere to go. Often times, rock bottom comes in the form of a fight with a friend where it seems like you can’t do anything right and you’ve screwed up way too many times at this point and everybody hates you. It could involve your picturesque conception of your family shattering to pieces right before your eyes, and there is really nothing you can do about it. Or maybe all you want is for a guy to treat you with respect and open the door for you and be crazy about you, but it seems like everybody just sucks and you are going to be single forever – we are the generation of divorce and fear of commitment and hookups anyway. A loved one passed away. Your house is gone. You’re jobless and friendless and loveless. No matter what you do, you’ll just never get it right. It also just feels like its impossible to know what we want in life, and as much as we want to live in the present and not regret anything in the past and not constantly be looking ahead, it’s so tempting to reach into the unknown and grasp for very unknowable answers. And then that’s when you hit rock bottom, because you have nothing left to grab hold of.
The feeling is something along the lines of just staring at your phone, with tears falling down your face, or just sitting in your chair and breaking down, feeling like you are never ever going to leave that chair. It might also be more along the lines of a strange numbness – you’re there, but you’re not there. You just feel like you’re in this inescapable funk.
You want to confide in your best friends and confidantes with two contradicting hopes: that they will get it and help you out, and that they won’t understand what your’e going through because they have no idea what rock bottom feels like.
It’s easy to be happy when things are going well. But it’s near impossible to smile when you feel as helpless as the situation looks. But that’s when you have to learn to smile and be happy and appreciate everything else that isn’t going wrong. This is when we grow and learn and become tougher than anybody else could possibly be. Once you’ve hit rock bottom, you’re going to have to use a shovel made of thunder to go any lower, so honestly, in the wise words of Justin Bieber, we can go nowhere but up.
Life is fucking hard, but honestly, life is also so fucking wonderful. Let yourself silently cry in the shower or make your ugliest crying face and sob in your own hands, but then ultimately find the friends and family who want the best for you, but most importantly, learn to be strong on your own.
The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday. Let Sunday be your favorite day again.