Until the past few months, I had never thought much about how I developed the strong sense of optimism that I’ve had from a young age. Now that I’ve thought about it for a bit, I think I have an answer.
I watched a lot of TV shows and movies and read a lot of books growing up. Many of these contained stories of people overcoming tremendous obstacles, becoming better versions of themselves, and mending broken relationships with their friends and family members. There wasn’t anything that they couldn’t talk about, work through, or transcend together. No matter what happened, everything always turned out well in the end and all the main characters got their happily after ever.
I read and watched these stories about near-ideal worlds almost every day. I’m sure that this, in addition to having a pretty sheltered life growing up and possibly having a natural sense of optimism, is where the vast majority of my optimism came from. I’m also sure that it’s a huge part of why I got so upset whenever a situation didn’t have that happy Disney movie ending. Those upset feelings usually manifested as anger and then often became sadness later on. I had to learn that sometimes people don’t listen, sympathize, or change their hurtful ways. Sometimes everything doesn’t get wrapped up in a nice bow by the time it’s over. Understanding and accepting that has been incredibly hard for me. The lowest times in my life came when I had lost my optimism and became convinced that everything would just get worse over time.
Eventually, however, I got out of that funk and experienced what felt like a rebirth into a new life full of wonder and possibilities. That started me off on a path of exploration and discovery that eventually resulted in my starting this blog as a place to record my observations and work through my ideas. Additionally, as I’ve gotten better at accepting and working within the world as it is now (which I think is essential before trying to make it into what it could be), it’s also given me a better sense of how to navigate life. Instead of burning myself out trying to force something that clearly isn’t meant to be, I can work on something that, though it may still be difficult, is well worth doing and adds a great deal of value to my life. Focusing on things that are directly within my control has given me a greater sense of optimism than I’ve ever had, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for everyone.