I am a lucky man.

For all the pain and trauma I’ve been subjected to, for all the misfortunes and departures that have mercilessly dotted the story of my life – I am a lucky man and no one can take that away from me.

For years I have felt like a victim of circumstance; being perpetually uprooted, faced with trauma and wrongdoing; facing life and it’s challenges with weakness and a sob instead of positivity and a smile.

The cliché would be that this strength had always been inside me, but has too been buried beneath the rubble of emotional baggage and a general sense of helplessness. It has taken many years and many failures for weakness to pass, and even though the burden is still there I am now strong enough to carry it. This after trying and failing for most of my adult life.

I am now strong enough to be my own person. My family can rely on me. My friends can rely on me. I will support them with what strength I have, and maybe more. I will be a rock for them. I will be the best version of me that I can imagine to be.

I know that the strong will one day be weak, as is the cycle of life. One day I will again feel as if my world is crashing down all around me, but note this. I will get back up again. No matter what it takes.

Because this is my life, and I intend to ace it.