Everything in life has become a number that represents a quality of a certain person. Test scores represent how well one obtains knowledge, and how many points a teen gets off on his/her driver's test represents how good of a driver someone is. The number on a weight scale, how big or small the number is on a paycheck, what someone's ACT score is, GPA, or class rank; these are all numbers that represent a single individual, solely based on what? What do these numbers really mean, and why do they reflect so strongly on a certain individual?

After having my first year of college completion, and being able to take time to reflect on all the blessings that I have received this year, I realized that we all need to experience disappointment in order to see the silver lining of all the beautiful things that life has to offer.

When I got waitlisted time after time again at my dream school, I felt defeated. Although I was getting accepted into all these other schools, the one that I thought was where I was meant to be most, didn't think the same. Realizing that dreams really do get crushed sometimes, was hard to accept.

Something that really helped me realize that hopes and wishes don't always come true, was to never to let anything or anyone define me as a person. I am the one who creates my own success, my own future, and my own happiness. Every day is a new opportunity to strive for what I want. I never sit back and just let things happen. Everyone has an equal opportunity to go out and make every day count.

This is a mission statement that is important for everyone to embrace and hold true. For me, by holding this true, getting denied from a place I dreamed about all throughout high school, and where I thought I was going to spend the next four years, made me realize the silver lining that I am now where I am meant to be.

Finding peace in the unknown. It all sounds good until you're the one that has to do it. Being faced with defeat and feeling that you're not good enough for something that you dreamed of for so long is hard. The operative word in this phrase, however, is unknown. I never knew how blessed my life would be until I got to school and realized all the opportunities that life has to offer.

God closes certain doors to open up even better ones. We never know what life has to offer until we look beyond the defeat. Sure, it's going to sting for a while, but once peace is found within the sting, the outcome will be more rewarding than any temporary disappointment.