My Life Sucks: A New Year's Resolution
By Stephanie Lynn, age 22, Massachusetts
SDM Editor-in-Chief
"My life sucks." How often have I heard that? I'm overweight. I have acne. I don't have a boyfriend. My best friend stole my boyfriend. My boyfriend broke up with me. I like this guy, but he doesn't like me. And so on ...
I'm here to tell you, and you'd be smart to listen up, your life doesn't suck.
Why? Well, first off, you were probably born in a first world country like the United States, Canada, U.K., Germany, Australia, etc., in the early 1990's, and you are not currently in imminent danger of starving to death. I mean, you could have been born to a very poor family in drought-ridden parts of Africa, or for that matter in Europe in 1350 at the height of the Plague. You could have been born in the 1700's as a slave, or today in a repressive country like North Korea or Iran. In fact, for practically everyone reading this, chances are greater than 99% that you could have been born into worse circumstances than in fact happened. Nearly all of our readers are teenage girls living in first world countries with a roof over their heads, a family who takes care of them, and the opportunity to enjoy some real measure of happiness and success in their lives.
So okay, life brings some disappointments. But it doesn't suck. It's filled with opportunities. To experience the most out of it, you need to start with and maintain an attitude of:
1) optimism (despite certain things that do in fact suck),
2) thankfulness (to your Creator and your parents for giving you life and opportunities), and
3) persistence (to overcome the many, often minor setbacks that everyone must endure).
'Cuz the truth is, to succeed you will also have to deal with a handful of major hardships too - health issues, divorce, business or career failure, the death of a loved one, etc. So get in the habit of being strong, unselfish, and positive now.
And make this your New Year's Rez:
By and large, I have a great life. I'm really blessed. I'm going to enjoy it, and appreciate every opportunity to eat a good meal, express my thoughts and feelings, go to college, choose my beliefs, have time with family and friends, and participate in activities I enjoy. Why? Because most teenagers throughout history and even today have not had the opportunities that I have. So I'm going to make it my New Year's Resolution to stop whining so much about what's not right in my life, and instead be appreciative of and make the most out of the opportunities I do have. And every time some friend whines "my life sucks", I will think to myself, "Foolish girl, you don't know just how sweet it is."
