Rock Bottom #10385934

Every now and then, we merge unto a bumpy road...run into a brick wall. And as much as we try to avoid it, it's inevitable. You can't eat, you can't sleep, you can't seem to get your mind off of certain things. We've all been here, it happens to the best of us. The question is, after you have hit rock bottom (or at least, what feels like it), how do you get back up?

Answer? I have none. In fact, I'm still trying to figure it all out myself. But I do know one thing: GET BUSY. Sure you can write about what you feel, and lock yourself up in your room for days, but it's only after you've taken a hold of the present, will you get over your past. We all know dwelling in the past doesn't ever do you any good, and neither does beating yourself up over something that you have absolutely no control over.

Take the summer of 2004, for example. The summer after my grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer. Maybe I was in denial, maybe I really didn't know how else to handle it. I worked, full-time, and booked every free day with things I've always wanted to do. I surrounded myself around positive people. My friend even commented saying that I was handling it all really well. Little did he know, I was crying inside, and I still am. But we've got to take control of our lives, it's the only way.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Rock Bottom #10385934, Monica Edition. I don't even have to tell you exactly what happened, because it's all relative, and we've all been here. But I will tell you that, there is hope. And if I can say that right here, right now, it must be out there.


First step? Visit chicagononprofit.org. Find something to invest some of my time in. Find an opportunity to inspire others. Find myself, all over again.

I've never been so excited in my life.