This semester I am taking sixteen hours of core/pre-nursing courses to hopefully attain my bachelors of science in nursing degree in four years, and taking this many hours of such stressful classes has overwhelmed my mind and more over my heart. I spend more time doing school work or studying than anything else, and don’t get me wrong I will work until I reach my goal, and I am aware of the demand of such a strenuous and life changing career. Sometimes I just get discouraged or over stretched... Which is normal. While I do not intend for this article to be about that, I will cut to the chase. I take two online courses through my school, one being Introduction to Psychology. I sat down last night to write my paper for this class on the brain and brain death, of course this topic was right up my ally, and I managed to write a very lengthy and well in sighted paper on this subject. My eyes growing heavy around 2 a.m., I chose to close my laptop and finish the next morning. Spending two additional hours on this paper the following morning, proud of my work I finally hit submit, and every college students biggest fear occurred…the page for whatever reason refreshed and deleted all my hard and time consuming work. I sat as tears filled my eyes, I had so many more assignments to do I didn’t have time to remember what I wrote originally and rewrite it. I sat in pity, of course called mom, and wondered what in the world I was about to do. I dried my tears, I gathered my thoughts and I began again. Sometimes, after even what feels like the most epic fail, you just have to begin again. Reflecting on the past three semesters I have been in college I have noticed despite all the meltdowns, tears, and setbacks we all ending up making it in some way when we thought we were doomed. More often than not, our epic fails turn into our source of motivation. I begin to rewrite my paper, and I was determined to make it even better than the first! To the guys in middle school who said remarks about my weight which was never above normal, I now lift the same as you in the gym. To the one who said I try too hard to be accepted, I directed that energy elsewhere now I try too hard to be prosperous in all that I do. To my junior high honor literature teacher who said I didn’t have the skill level or writing ability to be in her class, I am now one of 50,000 pieces being submitted to the Odyssey a month and writing is my passion. To the one who said I would never amount to anything, I am worth more than rubies in my Father’s eyes. To my twelfth grade teacher who said I should change my major from anything medical because your anatomy class was foreign language to me, I completed both Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs in college. To myself last year, I’ve proved you wrong and I have conquered those classes I promised I wouldn’t make it out of, and overcame those battles and came out stronger. Had I listened to those comments, discouraging words and "suggestions," I would not be where and who I am today. This isn’t about being better than your peers, but better than who you were yesterday. Fall down seven times and get up eight, but never unpack and stay in the fall because that’s not where you will stay long. So, having lost my hard work in one instant I could have remained there in self-pity, but instead I chose to write an article. An article encouraging others and even myself that one set back isn’t fatal, one failure isn’t the end, and one battle is not your last. Become strong in your weakness for yourself, encourage yourself and be you own source of motivation. Seek He who your help comes from, and know He will not start a good work He doesn't intend finishing. Use your weakness to build you up in other areas, and then you may find you are strong and courageous just in a different light than what you originally thought. Use your failure to help tell your story, let your story be your anthem of living an imperfect life yet serving a perfect God that places every piece of our being into motion. Tell the testimony of the fact you are human, and that you aren’t flawless, but you still made it…in some way, the way that was planned or the way that was never thought of…you still made it. Take comfort in the one who knows you all, and has you…always He has you. When we have done nothing to deserve it, He still has us. Who He was yesterday, He is still today, and the future is written and promised by Him that if we follow and trust, it will be prosperous. Be enlightened in His presence, joyful in His promises and still in His words. Take the set back as a moment of refinement, take the failure as a chance to try something new, and take the battle as a challenge that through Him you have already overcome.

“ For I am The Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13