“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” — Kurt Vonnegut

I feel like every month that inches closer to my 30th birthday, the more introspective I become. . . which, is saying something because I’m an introspective person to begin with, it just took me a long time to understand what that meant or that it was OK to do. I’m also well aware there is nothing magical about turning 30 except that the YMCA no longer considers me a “young adult” and will charge me more for a month membership but I digress.

I think about who I am a lot. Am I the person I want to be? If I’m not, what can I do to make that better? Not better in the competitive sense, but more kind, more thoughtful, more approachable, more trustworthy, more humble, more self-sacrificing, more hilarious (just checking to see that you’re still with me).  How can I be a better friend to the people I care about? Because, bottom line, if I don’t allow the struggles I walk through and the muck I encounter to make me a better human, then it’s not really worth the struggle. I want to fight the well-chosen fight knowing that in the fighting there is redemption. There is value in the struggle when the struggle teaches us to be better. Maybe it’s not something we see in the middle, or even right after it ends, but it’s there if we have the courage to look.

We get better.
We have to, or it’s not worth the fight.

Peace be the journey.