In my limited sixteen and three quarters years of life, I could give you many pieces of advice. Whether it’s good advice or not, I can’t promise, but just one thing that I’m sure of is that it’s the worst times that makes the best times. The worst things in life stink, I’ll be the first to admit it.

Just the other day, I got in my first car accident. It was just a little fender bender, nobody was hurt, and yes, if you must know, it was my fault. Despite the fact that no damage was done to the other guy’s car and my truck is old and junky anyway, it still hangs over me that I made a dumb mistake. So while the trial, had physically ended, I was left to do deal with the emotional repercussions of my decision.

After only a couple minutes of pondering, I had an epiphany. It’s over. Gone. My old basketball coach used to tell me to “Flush it.” I think I finally understood what he meant. You made a mistake. So what? Everyone does. Some people in get car crashes and others smoke cigarettes. Either way, it won’t be fun, but in both cases you’re going to learn. In my case, I had to understand what I did wrong and now I have hope that I will never make such an easily-avoidable mistake ever again.

So yeah trials stink, but they are such wonderful gifts. Believe it or not, trials play a huge role in our progression and you have to have a way to overcome trials. One way is hope. Hope isn’t born out of evidence of a better future. Hope is born in the mistakes of the past. You came, you saw, and you conquered the trials of your past. So take hope in your past. Use this hope to catalyze your actions regarding the future. I believe that the hope you gather from your past is essential in your quest to endure. I believe in a purpose. You aren’t here for no reason. You go through tribulations for a reason. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that they play distinct roles in our lives and are two separate, more than able-bodied beings. I believe that through them I can have hope. I believe that through them I can love those around me as children of God. I believe that you are where you are for a reason. You have a purpose. There is truth in this world, no matter how many cynical and rude and selfish people there are, the truth can be found if you seek it enduringly. I believe in truth and if you think that life isn’t great, you haven’t found it yet. I believe trials to be essential to progression and I believe the way to overcome these trials is through hope.