In 2017 Netflix released a series that caused most of America to ugly cry on their couches at home. “Thirteen Reasons Why” is a story about a tragic suicide in which the main character left tapes explaining the thirteen reasons why she decided to commit suicide. This series was thought provoking, exposed the dangers of bullying and made us all a little more grateful that we ourselves hadn’t gotten to that dark point. Now, before I go any further this will not be my list of thirteen reasons why I want to die. As depressing as life may get, I do feel as though life is worth sticking around for. So I present to you, my thirteen reasons why life is worth living.

There are going to be people I meet in the future, who I don’t understand how I lived so long without.

I love the feeling of meeting a new person, cultivating a relationship with them and realizing how much you wish they would’ve came to you sooner. The people that you meet that you don’t ever want to live without again. Those are special people that only come once in a while and deserve to be looked forward to.

I have the exciting chance to one day bring another life into the world.

Having kids hasn’t always been a dream of mine. Up until about two years ago I had no interest in pregnancy before I turned thirty. Now that I’m in my mid-twenties this is something that I’m so excited for and have to remind myself to have patience on.

Conquering a fear feels like an adrenaline rush unlike any other.

Healthy adrenaline rushes can be a tool in healing. I find that I have many fears and the ones that are tangible, feel amazing to overcome. My best example of this is that I am terrified of speed and speed mixed with heights is an even scarier experience. I haven’t gone on a roller coaster since I was about eight years old but last summer I decided to skydive. The immense amount of fear I felt before jumping, combined with the courage it took to go through with my decision to jump out of the plane, was liberating.

There will be people that choose to love you, without you having to ask them to and that is healing.

Everyone knows that when you ask your partner to take out the trash or do the dishes and then they do it, it doesn’t mean as much as when they do these things without asking. When someone LOVES you in a healthy way, without you having to ask for it, its honestly magical. Strangers, co-workers, friends, anyone really. It helps us feel seen.

When I look back on my lowest and most painful moments, the memories don’t carry the same amount of pain.

Looking back on what I would consider to be “my worst moments” in life, the mountain I had to climb doesn’t look so big anymore now that it is in the rearview mirror. I’m sure you know when you pass a skyscraper it looks huge while you’re driving past it. Five miles down the road, it only looks like a speck poking into the sky. It makes the mountains ahead of me less daunting knowing that one day my perspective will change.

I have the opportunity to be apart of the ripple effect.

The ripple effect is the idea that every interaction we have with someone will have an impact on them. An impact that then will go on to affect those that they interact with. This is so cool because if I act with kindness and compassion it has the opportunity to affect someone across the country who I don’t even know.

Trying new things feels like experiencing life for the first time.

New people, new food, new places, it’s a rush. This is part of the reason why I fell in love with traveling. Whenever life starts to feel dull, try something new and you’ll be reminded of all the new things that are out there that you haven’t experienced yet.

There is beauty everywhere that needs to be captured, by picture, creative writing, paintings, etc.

I like to call myself an “artist”, a “creative” if I must. When looking at the world through this lens it is easy to see all the beauty that is around me. Taking it one step further I feel like it is part of my “duty” of being here to capture some of the beauty to share with others. It would be selfish to keep it all to myself!

My smile and personality is unique to the world and no one else can replicate it.

You are you, and no one can ever change that. Your personality is your own and no one can ever be an exact copy of that. If you weren’t here, the puzzle would be missing a piece that is irreplaceable.

Laughing burns calories.

Apparently laughter increases your expended energy and heart rate by 10-20%. Oh and it also causes belly cramps, free ab workout anyone???

To grow old and become wise is a treasure that not enough people look forward to.

Yes, the wrinkles are the least exciting part of aging. However, right now I am a young adult, with not much adulting experience. I am making decisions based on my gut and advice from others. I cannot wait for the day that I can give advice and take my own advice based on WISDOM and life EXPERIENCE. How nice will it be to go through something for a second time, but this time knowing the right choices to make?

I serve a purpose that is bigger than myself and that I am happy to be a part of.

Religion and spirituality has always been something that calmed me and has given me a sense of purpose. I think that religion can give us a sense of belonging, belonging to something that isn’t just about us.

Life is a gift, it was by chance that I was brought here and I want to make the most of what was given to me.

I wrote previously about love languages and how receiving gifts is my love language. When I look at my life as being given to me as a gift, it is something to be cherished. I would never take a gift someone gave me stomp on it, and throw it in the garbage disposal. So why would I do that with the gift of life?

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I hope you enjoyed this introspective read on my thirteen reasons why. I encourage anyone who made it this far to journal their thirteen reasons and to share it if you feel so inclined! We have all had our moments when we forget how important and special our lives are, my hope is that this helps remind people who are stuck in that hard place 🙂

Rhae