I believe everything happens for a reason. Whether it be a good happening or a bad happening, there is always a purpose behind it. We may not always understand the reason right away; we may never understand, truthfully. But I believe that things happen to us in order to shape us into the people we are meant to become. For example, yesterday I lost a softball semi final game in the state championship. Of course, this isn’t the worst thing that could happen to me, but considering I ended a life long journey with a strike out, I was distraught. I immediately became angry. I didn’t understand why such a thing would happen. Why couldn’t I hit the ball? Why wasn’t I able to pull through when my team needed me? Why did I have to end my career on such a low note? These questions ran through my head from the moment the last out was made to the moment I packed my bags in the hotel this morning. I tossed and turned all night, as I couldn’t sleep trying to understand why. Almost twenty four hours later, I understand… somewhat. I looked back at how I took advantage of the talent on my team and the time I had with them. I complained about going to practice. I prayed it rained out game days. And yesterday, I took that semi final game for granted. The entire team, including our coach, was already focused on the team we would have played in the championship game. We completely overlooked our current opponent. From that, I learned that nothing should be assumed or taken for granted. We often as a society overlook the small things and expect them to go exactly how we plan for them to go. Sometimes, we need reality checks. I understand now, why things happened the way they did, but that is not always the case. Although, I do not believe we will always realize the reasons for things happening, I believe there always is a reason. Life is crazy but purposeful. I believe finding the light in the dark is a motivation to keep moving forward.