It's Not About You

I was reading this opinion piece in the New York Times and it really made me think about the things that have defined my life and choices.

Most of my life has been defined by necessity. I never had that whole "searching for yourself" aftercollege experience. I had to get myself together and get a job. One that had at least decent health insurance. Subsequently, I took a low paying job that I wound up hating because it was sort of related to my interests and had good insurance.

Since then, I've changed jobs several times and have been unemployed. That's a really stressful experience for someone with a chronic illness. You have to worry about feeding yourself AND about a job that has insurance. I took a job that was temp to hire. Never again. I like my job and I think the trial period was a good thing, but, really? It was a bad thing for me. It was stressful to consider that they may not hire me and I might have to continue paying for COBRA.

That is beside the point, though. I feel like there are many advantages I've gained from being sick and being more mature than my peers is one of them. I know it sounds a little strange to be thankful for illness, but it made me grow up and makes me consider my choices much more careful than your average 20-something. It isn't an easy path, but that's ok, too. I am grateful for it.

The article makes several good points about how successful people find their callings through necessity and how it's adversity that makes you great. I agree.