Life, inevitably, has its ups and downs.
You could have one of the best days in your life one day and the next, everything can come crashing down. It’s just how life is. How you handle it, is what makes all the difference.
January 22, 2019
This was a day full of anticipation. I woke up anxious and excited, ready to hit the day in full force. Why was it so great? Well, Edgar Martinez was on the brink of being voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, amongst other things. This was a moment I had been waiting 10 years for. I know it’s weird to some people. “How can you be so excited about someone you don’t really know that well?” It’s the same way you feel connect to someone you’ve never met. Someone that you may listen to everyday. You watch in TV shows, movies, etc. Growing up in the 90’s, there were icons; people who you look up to. For me, it were athletes like, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez from the Mariners, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp from the Sonics, and the list goes on. It was something that made me feel… happy. 10 years. On his 10th and final year on the ballot, Edgar was voted into the Hall of Fame. This was an amazing, no… monumental moment. For Edgar, for me, the city of Seattle, all of the PNW, and a lot of people in America. It was just a happy moment. It had nothing to do with me, but is just one example of having a high in life.
January 23, 2019
Fast forward to today. It started out a little slower. I was tired. I wanted to go back to sleep. On my way to work about halfway there, my car started acting a little weird. The check engine light came on, along with the TCS light and then D4 started flashing. That indicates there was an issue with my transmission. Great. Car problems. That’s not something anyone wants to deal with. It always starts out small and then more things are found, and before you know it, you’re paying a ton of money. Needless to say, I called and made an appointment to get it checked. I went about my day and never really got into a groove. I kept getting interrupted with random things and so on. At the end of the day, I was heading to the dealership to drop off my car for the appointment tomorrow morning. When I got to my car, I put my stuff in the back seat and noticed that there was glass on the floor in the back. I looked up at my passenger window and it was completely smashed. As if it wasn’t bad enough that I was already taking my car into the shop to get checked out, my window was now broken and my stereo deck was stolen. That was it. I was devastated. I called to file a report with Campus Security and the Tacoma Police Department. Now I wait for the police report to come back, so I can file a claim with insurance. I dropped my car off after putting a cover over the window and not wait to hear from Honda on how much the transmission goes. The damage done to the car resulted in my driving with my window down and using hand signals for left and right turns. Man, what a day. Now that’s what I call a low.
You see, this is life. The ups and downs of life.
I may be upset right now about everything that has happened today and mostly pissed about my window being busted. The raid, oh well. It was 7 years old and probably not worth much anymore. The window though, that is just a pain in the ass… However, even with all the crap, I’m choosing to not let it affect me as much. There are times in life where you can get upset, but letting it bring you down doesn’t do you any good. You have to take it in stride and turn it in your favor.
The best way to think of it is that life does have its ups and downs, but you will never fully appreciate the ups until you have some downs.
This isn't the first time I’ve been knocked down and it certainly won’t be my last, but I will always find a way to claw back up.
Have to stay on the grind and hope for a better tomorrow.