Life: Progress

Progress

We are all human beings, our lives go on, and continue, through trials and tribulations. Life has it's ups and downs, but life is what we make it. There are times where life feels like it's low, or perhaps even an all time low. But if life is at it's lowest, what else is there but to progress higher, to make life livable, or even good.

Such formalities in conversation: "Hey, how are you?", but naively we say these words, ask this question way too easily, as a formality, without the contemplation of what this question truly means. We simply reply "good" again, as a formality, but we all know that we're not all that "good".

Progressing through life, for however many years, feels so monotonous, but at the same time, time itself feels painful. We get so low to the point of self-destruction, whilst knowing in our minds that it isn't the true answer. The only path is self improvement, not self destruction. Though, unfortunately, we all seem to realise that the path of self destruction is all too easy, we destroy, we lead the path or wrongness, all because it's easier than the true path of improvement.

This is how we get stuck in difficult situations, because ironically, the difficult times are the easiest of them all. Taking that step, making that choice to change, to improve, is all too hard. Despite our knowledge of death, life and time is all we have. We have an unlimited resource of life, of time, despite death. This is because after death, there it is all just an eternity of nothingness.

Friends, family, relationships, school, jobs, life. Of all these important factors, in the end all we have is ourselves. When we lose ourselves, we wont even know the consequences of our own deaths. Simply because, we are.. dead.

It is for this reason, we should make the most of what we have, especially our lives. To seize the moment, to live our lives to the fullest, rather than self destruction, we must opt for self improvement. I personally can say that life isnt good, it has been harsh, perhaps even somewhat cruel. But we must make the most of it.

Life is ourselves, but conversely is reliant and subjected to everything that surrounds us. On the path of self-destruction, or even isolation, despite the cares and sympathies of those around you, their lives move on, with our without you.

When I reminisce about the past, who I was, who I used to be, what life used to be, what choices I made. These things cannot change, but I do see the progress I have made.  There was a time I was worried whether or not I could even get to uni, if i'll ever have any real friends, if i'll be ugly forever. But i'm now surrounded by friends who I care about, and who care for me. I'm in the University of Queensland, studying what I've always wanted to do. I've taken the path of self improvement to stop my unhealthy life, and am continuing on the path of self improvement.

But after all the progress I have made, I still do not see myself as living my life at the fullest. I still have problems in my life, I still have issues I'm not happy about. I have plenty of things that I see myself needing improvement on.

My life could have taken a turn for the worst in the past. Where I was at a crossroad as to what to do with my life, or even to end it. In hindsight, it was a stupid matter to even contemplate the end of my own life, but at the time I know the issue was very, very real.

If I chose the wrong path, I could have ended up with no education, even more unhealthy and fatter than I am now, in isolation, with no friends, a disappointed family, and a meek future. But that doesn't mean I could not progress any more, even if I had taken that path.

No matter how bad life gets, no matter how dark situations appear, there is always a way, a path, a light. There is always a way to change our lives, to take a turn for the better, to make the most of our situations.

No matter what, we must progress, we must improve, we must strive for greatness. Whatever our goals, our wants, our needs, our ideal path, we must strive to get there. Even if we never achieve those goals, even if we don't get what we want, at least we tried.

It is the path that matters, not the destination.
It is better to jump for the stars, and only hit the sky, than to have never jumped at all.

Life's a bitch.
But life will always progress.

Andre Liu.