There are multiple points in a person’s life when they have to make a genuine decision that will affect the worldview they find themselves in, and the decision they need to make has multiple options, each of which is a potential cotton ball of gasoline on the fire of their pain. We are afraid to make these decisions because no matter what, we feel powerless to the uproar it causes inside.

We fear the pain because it hurts. It’s the ache of your chest when a boy you love says that he doesn’t know if he feels the same way about you. It’s the tightness in your throat when a good friend tells you something you don’t want to hear. It’s the 50lb sack of sand in your gut when your sister yells that you aren’t who you used to be, but a selfish, worse version of yourself. It’s every horrible, I’m-about-to-cry, get-out-get-out-get-out feeling a human experiences in its short lifetime.

But these pains are underrated.

There is no one more qualified than me to tell the world that pain is temporary, but it is potent. I will never get used to the feelings it brings, the brain earthquake and heart monsoon and every storm that wreaks havoc on my body that others cannot see. These storms will never stop happening in my life, but the way we learned and were taught safety precautions, going through trial and error until we knew the rules like a second nature, I will learn how to handle it better.

Leave everything behind in a fire, save yourself and the people around you. Don’t give him your heart, that is all you have. When someone is unconscious, check for their breath. Be assertive in your relationships, no one knows what you need but you. In an emergency, dial 911. When you feel like you want to die, go lay in bed with your mom. Never talk to strangers, no matter what they tell you. Don’t have expectations, they are the root of all disappointment. Stop, drop, and roll if you are on fire. Work until your feet give out, it gives you a sense of purpose.

Pain is inevitable, we are going to hurt. It is human nature to bleed when we are wounded.

So if we are going to get hurt anyway, no matter how we go about our lives, what is the point in trying to avoid it?

Pain is going to rip through every one of us like a bear claw because that is what it does. But we will build ourselves up again every single time.

I’m not saying we should all actively go searching for pain, that’s unhealthy in its very nature. What I’m saying is, we should stop being afraid to set ourselves on fire because we all know how to put ourselves out.

Just stop, drop, and roll.