Rock Bottom

It has always been my firm belief that hitting rock bottom is an essential part of life. It is the true test that will either make or break you. No one can escape this most enlightening experience of life. And I say 'enlightening' in all seriousness. No matter how long you stay down, the only way out is up, and the only way up is facing the problem head on. You can grow so much stronger in so many ways by finally dealing with your issue--or in some cases being forced to face the problem. What is experienced at this all time low is just as important as what is experienced on the way back up. If fixing a serious problem in your life means going through some pain and hardships, then I hope that pain hurts bad enough to keep you on track the next time.

Everyone needs to hit rock bottom at some point in their life. If that means jail for some, so be it. If others have to live out on the street to get their act together, fine. I have no bias from person to person in these situations. (Not even with family which I can say from experience.) I'm not saying that the first time someone makes a mistake they should be put out on the streets. I'm talking about the people that have used chance after chance and have worn their welcome of any neccesary sympathy and help.

On an entirely less dramatic note, I have now hit my rock bottom in procrastination. My junior year in highschool is proving to be a bitch and I still have some really bad working habits. Everything has been last minute all year and my grades are finally catching up to me. I am pulling my first official "all-nighter" (it's now 2:18 a.m.) to do a rough draft for a research paper due in a few hours. I will have been awake for over 30 hours before I sleep again and I am barely awake now. I am starting on it the night before, even after it's had its due date extended. Terrible, I know. But I am starting to see the light. I had a revelation while I was trying to think throuhg my 'writer's block' and trying to start my second body paragraph. As simple as this may seem, it took 17 years to occur to me, "Oh, that's why you start before the day before it's due. So that you don't have to think about it all at once."

No matter what your rock bottom looks like, you're bound to hit it sooner or later. And more than likely, you'll see more than one, but you will learn something each time. Recognize it, accept it, and work through it...or be miserable.