As October has finally set in and school feels normal once again, there are still challenges to face whether it be in school, out of school, physically, or mentally. There could be a lot that impacts you in the coming months or already has. It’s easy to let yourself go and forget to take care of yourself with all that’s going on in your world when it becomes too much. 

It gets even easier when the weather starts changing and it affects you. The days get shorter, and the nights get longer, and it all feels that way to a larger scale once it takes effect. You get home from school and the sun is already close to setting and by the time it’s six o’clock, it feels like you should be going to bed by how dark it is already. Those mornings can feel so agonizing as the thought of starting a new day is so much work to even start it let alone go and finish it.  

You dread all the work you must do as you know what’s coming and on top of it, there may be even more work. Then there’s more factors like outside stuff which you may have to tend to. They may be something you love doing, but just the thought of even having to go to another room in the house to practice something such as guitar, could be so much that it feels like something to not even bother doing despite your love for it. 

Through that all, all the work, the toughness of father time itself, and your own thoughts, you just must remember to take a deep breath occasionally. Mental and emotional health is just as important as physical health, and everyone struggles sometimes.  Remind yourself that it’ll be okay. All of this is temporary. Those thoughts, feelings, the days, the work; it’s all temporary. 

Through it all, you simply must rise. It’s tough, it’s challenging, but it makes you stronger and all the better for doing so. “Still I Rise,” are the words tattooed across seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Sir Lewis Hamilton’s back and the words “Still we rise,” is what he tells his team when things go right after a tough period. In all the adversity Hamilton has faced whether it be on or off the track. He has risen through it all and continues to rise and excel. Hamilton is a living example of dreaming the impossible and being able to do anything if we really try.  

If you want what you want in life like a career, or an A+ on your next test, you get it. It’s the hard work that gets you there. It’s the hard work that can make you feel like it’s not worth it, it’s too much. It’s the hard work that helps you become better.  

It’ll be tough, no one said it was easy, but if it was easy everyone would be doing it. It’s these small but simple things to remember when you’re in a bad spot. If you just remember to breathe, to work hard, to know it’s all temporary, and rise, then you can do anything you set your mind to. So just remember, still we rise.