Back then, I took so much for granted. I was so busy letting the adversity I had met in my life victimize me, that I  was unable to recognize how much of my time and energy was needlessly wasted wallowing in abject misery and self-pity. I guess that’s just another one of the follies of youth: the mindset that you will live basically forever, so there’s more than enough time for second chances, isn’t there?

Back then, I never understood, never truly appreciated, that I had never before been exhausted in my life. Being the most tired or worn out I had ever been was not  even remotely equal to being exhausted. I know that now, though I wish I had never had to learn that lesson the hard way. It’s somewhat like when you hear careless children or teenagers say “I’m starving! No, seriously! I swear, I can feel my stomach eating itself!!”. They can’t even begin to conceive the concept of starvation, having never been more than hungry in their entire lifetimes. They may be the (more…)