Self-discovery comes at times you least expect it. Possibly when you least want it too. The opportunities you come across every day; the ones you lose, perhaps defining you a little more than the ones that you grasp. The decisions you end up making, the impulsive ones that you make when faced with very little time to ponder. And you end up doing what is true to you, in the process, coming a little closer to finding what you truly are. Maybe what you truly are is what you are truly meant to be. But who reaffirms you of that? And what are you, at the end of the day?
Bad times are purgatory. They are cleansing. Purifying. They let you be exactly who you are, and allow you to let go of the image you work all your life carefully constructing. They make you let go of your stoicism, your seemingly undaunted spirit, your composure, and your forced optimism. They let you stop lying to everybody around you and for a short period of time, you are exactly who you are. You cry, you are more emotional than logical, you are less guarded. You are more raw. You are more human.
Bad times, seemingly relentless in their harshness, often end up doing you more good. They often remind you of the little things you forgot about yourself along the way. Or better still, tiny strengths and slivers of resilience and positivity and an almost stubborn will to overcome. Things you forgot while trying to be calm. The most important parts of you.
Every day is a test of your ability to overcome. There are surprises around every corner, good and bad. There is a comfort in knowing that each person's past is a testimony to their inherent urge to pull through.
No matter how hard, no matter how prolonged. There is great strength in believing in the unproven and having faith. There is great strength in being just you.