My 17 Years | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

My 17 Years

Reflecting on the wisdom I have learned since my last birthday, and sharing it with you.

34
My 17 Years
YourAmazingPlaces.com

As my birthday passes, more and more I am paying attention to the careful factor that ultimately governs everything in the universe: time. I look forward to the future and my future plans and aspirations, as well as the many mysteries it holds. I say happy in my present, content with how things are going, and ready to change them if I am not. However, I also look back to the past. I once heard a quote that said something like, "only look to the past to learn from it, or to see how far you have come." I do just that, because with every year we grow older, comes more wisdom and experience.

Growth. Over the course of my life I continually am taught the lesson of how important growth is. We see it physically all the time, aging is something we cannot avoid, but personal mental growth is what really makes a great difference. It is key to growing and learning in our lives. To adapting to things we cannot change, and understanding the best we can from each experience. Often times when we reflect on our growth, we see how much is really going on behind the scenes in our minds. How each struggle lead us to a new, better beginning where we had a strong mind, and newfound wisdom in our hearts.

Struggles. No matter how old we get or how far we progress in this grand scheme of life, we will always have struggles that weigh us down. They are never convenient, and are always testing what we know and a new part of our brain. But we get a glimpse of true pleasure when we find it in us to overcome these struggles, and realize what we learned from them. To see struggles as opportunities to learn and gain something we did not previously have. These struggles we are hit with are not problems, they are mysteries waiting to be understood.

Understanding. I learned the importance of understanding. Whether it be problems around us, people, feelings, even situations or events, they are all able to be understood. When we strive to understand the world around us, we see how we can better understand who we are within, and vice-versa. Our feelings come to us for a reason, holding an important message meant to be decoded by us.

Success. There are many who do not want to see you succeed, and since my last birthday, I have witnessed this firsthand personally many times. People either want to see you held back for their own personal reasons, or they simply do not believe in whatever it is you are striving to achieve. Regardless of their reasoning, what is important is your reaction to it. You can let it bring you down, or you can choose to ignore it and use it as motivation to empower you even more. What matters is what YOU believe.

Happiness. People seem to embark on this 'journey to happiness', but really it is right inside of you to unlock. Along with success, people will try to take this away. Life itself will try to take this away with the many roadblocks and challenges you encounter, but once more it is precisely your reaction that makes the difference in your own emotional outcome. Happiness is a choice.

Peace. Just like happiness, we must strive to manifest this within. We wish for peace in the world, but peace does not fall from the sky, we must find it, or in some circumstances, create it within.

The journey. I share this one personally. Lately I see my birthday as a time of reflection, to look back on what I learned in the last year I have been on this Earth. My last birthday seems as though it was just yesterday, yet since then I have learned so much in this life. I remember all I could think about last birthday was 'my journey continues'. Indeed it does, and it is a journey I would not give up for anything. 17 years ago, the journey began, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me, -Hunter Jones

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Drake
Hypetrak

1. Nails done hair done everything did / Oh you fancy huh

You're pretty much feeling yourself. New haircut, clothes, shoes, everything. New year, new you, right? You're ready for this semester to kick off.

Keep Reading...Show less
7 Ways to Make Your Language More Transgender and Nonbinary Inclusive

With more people becoming aware of transgender and non-binary people, there have been a lot of questions circulating online and elsewhere about how to be more inclusive. Language is very important in making a space safer for trans and non-binary individuals. With language, there is an established and built-in measure of whether a place could be safe or unsafe. If the wrong language is used, the place is unsafe and shows a lack of education on trans and non-binary issues. With the right language and education, there can be more safe spaces for trans and non-binary people to exist without feeling the need to hide their identities or feel threatened for merely existing.

Keep Reading...Show less
Blair Waldorf
Stop Hollywood

For those of you who have watched "Gossip Girl" before (and maybe more than just once), you know how important of a character Blair Waldorf is. Without Blair, the show doesn’t have any substance, scheme, or drama. Although the beginning of the show started off with Blair’s best friend Serena returning from boarding school, there just simply is no plot without Blair. With that being said, Blair’s presence in the show in much more complex than that. Her independent and go-getter ways have set an example for "Gossip Girl" fans since the show started and has not ended even years after the show ended. Blair never needed another person to define who she was and she certainly didn’t need a man to do that for her. When she envisioned a goal, she sought after it, and took it. This is why Blair’s demeanor encompasses strong women like her.

Keep Reading...Show less
singing
Cambio

Singing is something I do all day, every day. It doesn't matter where I am or who's around. If I feel like singing, I'm going to. It's probably annoying sometimes, but I don't care -- I love to sing! If I'm not singing, I'm probably humming, sometimes without even realizing it. So as someone who loves to sing, these are some of the feelings and thoughts I have probably almost every day.

Keep Reading...Show less
success
Degrassi.Wikia

Being a college student is one of the most difficult task known to man. Being able to balance your school life, work life and even a social life is a task of greatness. Here's an ode to some of the small victories that mean a lot to us college students.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments