Why do bad things happen to good people?

This is something that I have thought a lot about, especially recently. Whether I’ve felt a situation has been applicable to me or have witnessed others face a similar struggle, it’s always tough to understand this. I recently saw a friend in a similar place I was in when I was in her shoes a year ago, and it shocked me how normal and valid I thought her feelings were. I was looking at the situation from the outside in, and my perspective was a total 180 from what it was when it was me a year ago.

Only with time do we really get to fully appreciate why things happen the way they do and when they do. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that the universe has a way of working things out. Bad things, amongst the good, happen to everyone, regardless of the type of person you are.

As an almost 20-year old, however, I’ve found that sometimes it can be hard to think outside of the “now.”

When you’re younger, things happen faster and seem way more intense. We tend to not see the big picture and focus only on how impactful the situation is at the time. Sometimes it feels like there is no way out, no other option, and no way that we will be able to recover from whatever is going on.

But, I’ve realized that, especially during your college years, you grow and change every single year. I’m not the same person that I was freshman year. Now a year later, I am still learning so much about myself, others, and the world around me.

Ultimately, I think that after we are no longer kids, we start to face struggles that are going to teach us lessons we’ll need for the rest of our lives. As a kid, you’re so oblivious to situations and it’s hard to understand the severity of situations and their consequences. As you get older, you get closer to figuring life out. But, I really don’t think anyone will ever figure out life. As one challenge is conquered, the next one appears. The growing never stops.

So, after facing challenges of my own and witnessing others face theirs, I’ll advise you to always think about the last challenge you faced. How did you overcome that one? What did that teach you? You’ll get through this one too, now knowing more than you did the last time around. You’ll overcome the next one and the one after that too.

These "bad things" that happen to good people aren't problems, rather they are steps in the ladder of life. So, remember to keep climbing no matter how tall the ladder is.