13 Reasons Why You Should Stay Alive
Dear reader, if you're reading this- it's not too late. You're still here, you're still breathing and you're reaching out for answers. The show 13 Reasons Why has insanely impacted my thoughts, my life, and most of all my emotions. Words and actions have an eternal impact on our emotions and our feelings towards life, and no matter what we do to try and feel better the words and actions don't escape our life.
I'm here today to hopefully be one of the things you need to stay one more day on this beautiful planet. And I'll have you know I'm not here to convince you why I know God is real, or that He'll love you regardless of your thoughts and feelings on life- because that's not your reality. That's just the truth.
So you're fighting the world. I know, believe me I've done that before too, and I won. That's why I'm here today to tell you it gets better, there's another side of life you have yet to see, and what you're feeling right now; it will not last forever.
But let's cut to the chase shall we? Here's 13 Reasons Why You Should Stay Alive:
1. You're a Living Example of Survival
You may not think it right now, but you getting through this depression and this anger, hurt and resentment towards life is only making you tougher. It hurts right now, and it feels like forever, but that's not true. Everything ends, that means this will too. You are going to be able to say you beat the pain, and be able to help others through theirs. Be excited for the future feeling of accomplishment when you beat depressions butt!
2. It's up to God When You're Work is Done on Earth, Not Yours
I'm being very honest here, it's not up to you. I mean really think about it, and ask yourself how selfish leaving earth before you're finished is. Whether you believe in God or not, He has an incredible plan for your life regardless if you want Him to or not, and the truth behind that is in the Bible. One of the most well known verses in Gods word is Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
There's a future, you don't have planned, but He does.
3. You're Not Alone
I know you've heard this one before, and it's getting old. But hear me out, I mean really hear me: You're NOT alone. If you're in school, you walk by at least 10 people a day who feel as torn down by life as you do, your peers, your teachers, your neighbours- they hurt. I mean really hurt. This world is powerful for causing hurt, and you aren't the only one to feel this low. We know how you feel, and want to know, even when you don't think someone hears you, or sees you or wants you- I do, somebody does and we want you here. You are not alone. I hurt too.
4. The Oceans & The Sea
Travel. Get out. Tell someone you know where you'll be and go breathe. Getting out of this world, doesn't mean dying. Sometimes your world is the town you live in, or within a three hour radius of it. So escape. Make the steps you need to go have a beat. Save your money, take a train, a bus, a plane, get a hotel room and go see the world. It wants to see you too, I promise.
5. The Pain You Feel Now, Will Be How Your Parents Feel After You're Gone
I wasn't sure how to title this reason, but I tried. What I mean by it is, you are their world. Whoever you look up to the most, whoever you think of as a parent, guardian angel, God sent hero, your biggest fan, someone you know who cares about you- their pain will never go away. When you're gone, it will consume them. It will fill their world with confusion, and a life long mystery filled with questions and tears. If you you have pain, please believe there is a way it will go away. Because the people who care about that you don't see right now- their pain will never leave.
6. God Sees You
I know what I said, I wasn't going to convince you why I know God is real. I'm still not, that's not my vibe, but telling you about his abilities is just bragging about some awesome guy I know. He's that best friend everyone wants, and everyone can have. He is a supernatural God, who sounds mystical and un-real. Believe me, I have been back and forth with it too. But He sees you crying in your room at night, and wants to hold your pain, wants to walk you through life, and wants your tears to stop.
Proverbs 15:3: The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.
Let Him in, spill it out, especially if you feel like no one is listening, like no one sees you. He does.
7. Today is Not Tomorrow
Sounds, pretty simple. It's a simple reason really. It is not to lessen your feelings, it is not to down play them, but to simplify them. There's more tomorrows for you ahead, more days to live out the good that is to come.
Your feelings today aren't your feelings forever- as much as it feels like they are. You control your destiny, tell yourself tomorrow will be better because you aim for it to be, not because someone else thinks they want your day to be bad. Overcome their comments, be brave because I know you can be. Beat today by looking towards to tomorrow. I believe in you, now you believe in you.
8. Music
This is going to sound cliche and I'm sorry, but I love music. There are so many songs that artists have written that explaining exactly how I feel and it's not a song about how I feel- if that doesn't make sense listen to DNA by Lia Marie Johnson, or I Can't Breathe by Bea Miller. Those songs are two of my favourite songs to relate to, because they're universal, but yet so specific. Find artists that make you feel, that make you dance, that make you cry, that make you feel. Feel good, feel like they feel through the song. Music can change your life, let it. Look up songs about_____ and i promise you'll eventually find someone who gets you.
9. Life Comes With Seasons, Let This Be A Season
This is not to sound demanding, or forward- but I understand if you take it that way. That's okay, it means it shook you. Life is chalk full of different seasons of life, there's months of greatness, months of sadness, months of anger, months of so many emotions i can't list them all. But just like today ends, so will this season. If we choose to look at each season of life as a lesson, or something to grow from we will progress in adulting a lot quicker, and we will have this crazy beautiful perspective on life that no one else was big enough to choose to do. Choose your season, let it blossom you into a beautiful person. Poetic and cheesy right? I tried.
10. Being You is So Much Better Than Being Like Someone Else
I know, you've heard this one before too. But listen up, there is no one like you. I mean seriously, look in a mirror look at all of your quirks, idiosyncrasies, and your imperfections, your scars, try and tell me they're like anyone else's. I have stretch marks from growing on my thighs, and my hips, I have long feet, and a nose I didn't choose to inherit. Though, I choose to look at those things as me being 100% authentically beautiful, 100% me. I was made fun of a lot, for the way I looked and in public school, how i copied the popular girl- because I did- but if you choose to look in the mirror and even just try to see what makes you different instead of what you can do to fit in, that's so much more authentic than anyone I know.
11. You Don't Know You Yet
If you're a younger reader, I'm talking from 10 all the way up to 21. You don't even know yourself yet! There's so much more to learn. Like, what way you like holding the steering wheel of your car the most, how you really like your eggs in the morning- I'm kidding. But like I touched on earlier- you have so many little things about you, not even you know. Not only has the frontal lobe of your brain not completely grown, you haven't either. That means tomorrow you could be whoever the heck you wanted, and that could be you being exactly the you that you feel most comfortable in. Explore the options of who you want to be, and find out through life and experiences just who you are.
12. It's Okay to Not Be Okay
As sucky as this sounds, its true. It's okay to feel down, it's okay to feel upset and ruined and hurt and tired. We all feel it, in all different ways. How we choose to cure it, well thats up to us. What we need to remember is important when knowing it's okay to hurt, is that it's not okay to hurt alone. It's not okay to let it bottle up and than explode our hearts and minds into a million pieces. We can't let our feelings be an explosive bomb, that will shatter everything in its wake. We're all here together, rely on each other, not ourselves alone to mend the hurt.
13. No One Is An Expert On Life
And finally, number thirteen. No one knows what to do next. We're not clueless, we've just never done this before; life. That's why we have each other, like I said in number twelve; it's up to us to rely on others and not ourselves for mending. The only way anyone knows anything, is by living through it, is by experiences, and taking them as lessons to grow from. Lean on me, when you're not strong and I'll be your friend, cause we all need somebody to lean on.
This blog post was merely, 100% inspired by the new Netflix series 13 Reasons Why- it touched my life in a way I cannot explain- I am not partnered with them, but I will share a link that I believe can help anyone who needs someone to hear them: http://13reasonswhy.info
"It has to get better, the way we treat each other, and look out for each other. It has to get better somehow" - Clay Jensen, 13 Reasons Why