Learning through Life

There had been a lot of experiences throughout my lifetime that has helped me become who I am today. I will share some of these experiences, then I will share with you how these have helped my life for good. (On a side note, don't feel bad for me. These experiences have taught me so much in a good way). Okay, here we go. :)

Throughtout my childhood, I have received a lot of teasing and discrimination. I was the new girl (I moved around a lot). I was taller than everybody else (At least for the female gender). I often was teased for being part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many people call this church, "The Mormons."

I often asked myself, "What did I do to deserve this? I don't want this. This is too hard for a kid like myself to handle. Why am I being teased and discriminated for living a good life? I just want to have a friend and be somebody's friend."

It was definately a hard thing to go through. I thought something was wrong with me. I had low self-esteem for awhile. Then came the next experience.

For those of you that know me, I loved sports ever since I was really young. I convinced my parents to sign me up for soccer. I never really played soccer before except at recess. It was a type of experience that I will never forget. At the first practice, I felt that I wasn't good as the other girls. I heard some say that I wasn't good. That only pushed me harder as a player. I first played Center-Mid, then moved to Goalie. It was the game changer for me thats for sure. Being Goalie helped me boost up my self-esteem. By playing this position, I helped my team go to the playoffs. And I was selected being one of the two goalies for the All-Star team. I was more than thrilled. One of the All Star games eventually came down to Penalty Kicks. When my coach told me he wanted me to be goalie, I was like no way. I can't do it. Then he looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Yes you can." By having a coach have faith in me changed everything. My team ended up winning that game.

High school was difficult. Going to 3 different schools was hard. I first attended high school in California. I played JV/Varsity basketball there in the 9th grade. Then in the 10th grade, my family moved to Utah. It was super hard. I basically had a culture shock. Then a year later, my family moved again to another place in Utah. It was hard being the "new girl" quite a few times.

In the late high school years and college years, I suffered a lot. The teasing never stopped. I got sick a lot to the point where I had to differ from college for awhile.

Also, in college, I was part of this Comedy Improv group called, Academy of Comedy. If you seen the TV show, "Whose Line Is It Anyways," then you know what we do.

I can go on forever, but I know these experiences gave me my life's greatest lessons.

All of these experiences have helped me and taught me so much. Here is what I got out of these experiences:

1. I learned how to stand up and believe in myself. Have faith in yourself. People often told me I wasn't capable of doing things. I am grateful they told me that, because that is what made me push myself even more. Don't let others get you down. You know that you have a lot of strength within yourself and have a lot of potential that can inspire others. :)

2. I learned that if you are being teased/bullied, it will get better. Just be patient and be believing.

3. I learned how to love ALL people. No matter who they are, where they come from or what kind of life they live. Accept people for who they are and love them anyway. Life is that much more amazing when loving people know matter what.

4. I learned to see people the way God and Christ sees them. Seeing the good in people is incredible. No bad judgment here. It breaks my heart to see other people tear themselves down or tear other people down. Not worth the pain. My wish to everybody would be to have them see how much they are worth it.

5. Meeting new people is a blessing. This is something that I got to do very often since my family moved around to different places. If you truely want to get to know somebody, just listen. Its cool to see how much we can learn from somebody.

6. I have gained a lot of compassion through suffering (illnesses). By suffering a lot, it has brought me so much perspective. Life is to be enjoyed, not endured. Live every moment, Laugh often, Love beyond measure. Tell your loved ones how much you love them. Don't assume that they already know. Don't take life for granted.

Our lives are full of happiness and sorrow. It is our choice of how we want to live it. Is your glass half empty or half full? By living our lives with the glass half full, it brings so much happiness and joy. You never know who may be watching. You may be an example for good to some person. You just never know.

With me, I learned to live life with no regret. Just learn through your happy times and sad times. People often ask me what I would change about my past. As I come to think of it, I wouldn't change a thing. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am grateful for my different experiences and opportunities, because I learn so much. I am grateful for trials, not because it is desirable. Only because it taught me to love people unconditionally.

*I hope you got something out of this post. Please feel free to comment if you like. Much love. :)

-Laurel