by Nikk, Santa Clara
Personally, I put most things behind me relatively easily, simply because I understand that I can’t change the past or what I have already done, only what I’m gonna do in the present and future. This doesn’t mean I don’t have regrets or wish I could go back, and occasionally these thoughts and feelings will resurface.
And it is human nature for this to occur and to self-blame. But at some point, after beating yourself up over something, you just have to realize that it’s not doing anything or changing anything other than affecting your mental health and state at that moment. You have to man up, accept that you did what you did and said what you said, and it won’t change.
Whatever the consequences are, face it head on and move on. Life’s too short to focus on the past. Use it as nothing but a lesson for the future. Use it to do better and be better. That’s what I tell myself. Everything happens for a reason, and everything has a valuable lesson to learn from.
Stresses and crying don’t provide any change, they just waste time. So let the tears out, wipe ‘em off, then get off your butt and keep pushing. Use your pass to fuel you forward, not hold you down. Whether it’s pain, respect, shame, guilt, anger, lost, death, words, actions, experiences. It doesn’t matter. It’s all good. So instead of letting it sit in the trunk doing nothing, step on the gas pedal and drive. It’s all you can do.
And remembering that no matter what, I got people who love me, helps too. Lean on them. Forget everyone else. Let them talk or hate. If you let it get to you, that’s what gives them power. All of this is what I remind myself when something is getting to me, and I just move on. The past is in the past. And what happened, it is what it is. Let it go. It doesn’t define you unless you let it.