A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

Though I had a pretty difficult childhood, I always felt that without it, I wouldn’t be who I am today. There were new habits like mindfulness that I had to learn and integrate into my life through therapy; there were more traits that I had to unlearn for me to get better and get where I wanted to be in life.

If there is no change, no turbulence, no interruptions- how are we expected to grow? If our journey through life is all smooth sailing, we wouldn’t be able to get better… what is there to improve on if nothing happened in the first place?

It’s okay to feel uncomfortable and struggle throughout your life. These trials and tribulations sometimes provide us with lessons we never knew we needed. It can make us tougher and capable through experience. This is a reminder that though things may seem hazy and dark right now, one day, you’ll be able to look back at it and realize that you made it through and you should be proud of yourself for it. As my good friend once told me: “When the clouds have cleared, you’ll be able to look back and see how far you’ve come.”

Ariel Huang
Admin Intern