One of life’s toughest lessons, letting go and learning to accept change, has been one that I have been forced to deal with and has been a constant battle.
Letting go of things, and most often people, and accepting the changes that lie ahead has been one of the most frightening adjustments. This is something that I do not do well, but I have taken giant steps in moving toward dealing with this in a better manner.
My sentimental nature places great value on the events and people that touch my life, so it is hard to let go of them, although there is no other choice but to do just that.
I have been fortunate to meet wonderful people in my lifetime. So wonderful, that words cannot describe them or their impact on my life. People that are so wonderful that it almost rips my heart out and causes me great pain when the time comes to let them go.
These people have touched my life with their beautiful smiles and quirky, contagious personalities in numerous ways. They have taught me lessons about myself, without even knowing it, through their thoughts, actions and words. They have been friends, mentors and boyfriends. They have been my angels.
My angels have imprinted their footsteps all over my heart and I use their lessons wisely, knowing now that there was a reason behind them. But just because one has to physically let go of someone, it does not mean that they stop caring or hurting.
This year, I was faced with letting go of several people who are important to me. One of them for only a semester to study abroad, some so they may move forward and graduate, and one because it was time for our paths to part despite the great love and connection that was and still is felt.
I have been told, and I like to believe, that I am a strong person. And that my strength will help me overcome those events that trouble me, but each parting was more difficult than the last.
I had a conversation with a friend Tuesday night about the friends that we felt so genuinely drawn to and who made us revel in the pleasure of knowing such an awe-inspiring person.
My friend said he felt like his whole life has been saying goodbye. He also said that he has felt strangely about how things seemed to be just falling into place for him lately. A new home, several job offers, including one that is pulling him in a direction that he did not foresee. It appears he is a little sad about this even though it appears in a positive light to me.
And although I did not think much of his realization at the time, the more I thought about it, it seems so natural.
What I discovered was that one has to let go and accept change so that the pieces may fall into place. Life is a sequence of events with cause and effect. Change may be good or it may be bad, but one has to accept it and move on.
It has been a tough lesson and on several occasions I have still been strongly opposed to letting go, but left with no choice, I let life run its course at the expense of my heart and soul. I just remember the serenity prayer and it gives me strength.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.
If anything, I hope that those who suffer from the same crime of the heart understand that letting go and accepting the change is alright and as scary as it might be, life will go on.
Michelle Thornton, a junior journalism major, is editorial director of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at mthornto@ulv.edu.
