Every person must go through a journey in their lives. In fact, most people complete several journeys in their lives. My most recent journey has been one that I am still in the process of completing. High school has been a whirlwind of journeys, but perhaps the biggest challenge I have faced is adjusting to change. So much has changed for me in the last year and a half. My sister left for college, leaving me an only child for several months a year, I took a break from playing the piano then recently went back, and I received my first grades below an A- a hard change to accept.

I have always heard that change is difficult, but this idea has always been a thought that I simply accepted without finding my own perspective on. Now I can firmly agree that yes, change is extremely difficult, but it can also be a blessing in disguise (an exceptional disguise, almost unrecognizable). A child does not learn to walk without falling down numerous times. I feel as though I have not yet learned to “walk” in every aspect of my life, because I am still falling and learning from my mistakes.

The past year has tested me, because it seemed as if every change I could possibly encounter was hitting me at once, and at full speed no less. I was struggling in my schoolwork, “stressed out” became my new mantra, and I started to feel that I might never be able to adapt to all these changes. I began watching inspirational movies on a constant loop, highlighting key areas where the main character turned disaster into success then went on to become captain or president of something. I wanted to make those movies come to life, but I had no background in cheerleading or student politics. I was stuck.

After months of trying my hardest to adapt and push my life into an imaginary place called “Normal”, I found encouragement from an unlikely source- a Nike ad. “Just do it.” Three simple words that hold the key to the doorknob of success. Instead of agonizing over what I couldn’t do or what the future held or making plans to plan for other plans, I decided to pare down the thoughts racing through my mind at one in the morning and, to put it simply, “just do it.” I began to embrace change as an ordinary part of life, not a scary game of chances. Now my mantra rotates from “It’ll be fine” to “That sounds fun” and “I’m not going to worry about it.” I would be lying if I said that I have become a stress-free person who embraces everyday with a smile and a song. That’s really not realistic, as much as I would love to believe that that person exists somewhere in this world. But I have become significantly more easygoing and I have learned to practice embracing change. This journey will most likely never be over, because change will always happen. But now I know how to face it, and that in itself is an amazing accomplishment.