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Life doesn’t happen to you – It happens for you.

Before you begin reading this, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to listen to this video. There is a lot more to Jim Carrey than his hilarious acting and the video above is only a glimpse of what he has to offer to this world.

How will you serve the world? What do they need that your talent can provide?

This question isn’t an easy one to answer for everyone. I know I am still doing things every single day to figure out what I can do to give back to this world and, on most days, I don’t feel anywhere close to having it figured out. I think that’s pretty normal. I think life is about all about this question. Although, not everyone would agree and I wouldn’t argue that there are people who may never think about this for more than a moment in their lifetime. That is the reality of reality.

​This is how I see it: ​

This world is made up of a lot of different people going through a lot of different experiences while jumping through a lot of different obstacles in addition to feeling a lot of different emotions. That’s life in the simplest of terms in my mind.

We are sharing this world. We are building off of what was left before us. We are creating new ways or at least revising old ways of thinking, doing, seeing, living. We are capable of the incapable and we barely get to scratch the surface of impossible during our lifetimes.

​ That doesn’t mean we should sit back and let life happen. We need to seize each day. We need to give into our passions. We need to search for those things that make us feel truly alive and inspired. We need to do these things now before later because later is now and now is in the past. Think that’s confusing? Just keep in mind that your life is happening now. It doesn’t start after school ends. It isn’t waiting to begin once you’re married with children. It’s definitely not starting after you’re kids are all grown up. You see all of those obstacles you have ahead of yourself? Do you see all of those life goals in the distance? How do you think you are going to get through them or reach them? Life. Your life is going to keep happening, just like it is now, so stop thinking you’re waiting to live it. It’s already in motion. ​

​With all of that said: ​

What is important? What should we, as human beings, be concerned with then? Not money. Not things. Not fancy trips. Not bigger houses. Not penthouse offices with swivel chairs. Then how do we measure our lives?

​Try keeping this in mind: ​

The affect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.

I have encountered people in my life that have left marks on me. Many of those marks are good, but many are also bad. I have also been the one to create good marks in other lives, but I​ have also created pain and various levels of hate in other lives too.

It is easy to beat ourselves up when we are knocked down. It is easy to blame ourselves for the “lack there of” in our lives when we are the ones pushing out negativity into the lives around us.

I’m here to tell you that everything will be okay. You cannot change the past, but you can control certain aspects of your future. You must use that to your advantage! You have to forgive others. You have to forgive yourself. Being human is hard, but I have definitely learned that going through hardships are the reason I am the way I am today – and so are you​.

I have encountered loss, betrayal, failure, setbacks, indecisiveness, depression, illness, and more. That does not make me any better or worse than the next person. That does not make me more or less valuable to this world. All of these things help to create my entire existence. How so? While I was going through all of those experiences, I was also encountering love, trust, success, advancements, decisiveness, happiness, strength, and more.

Life is constantly teaching us lessons. Most of them don’t make sense right away, kind of​ like a 10th grade geometry test or a college-level chemistry quiz. (Okay, I actually love math and chemistry, but you catch my drift.) Look for the lessons in your life. Reflect more often. It is easy to let a whole year go by without really noticing what you have accomplished over the past 365 days.  Simultaneously, I challenge you to not be defined by the year. Try defining yourself by moments you decide on. Start reflecting on life sooner than January 1st of every new year. Try using the seasons as a marker. Try using the 1st of each month. Reflection is important to understanding ourselves and those around us, and sometimes life as a whole, more so than we let ourselves believe.

I’m just making the conscious choice to perceive challenges as something beneficial so that I can deal with them in the most productive way.

I’ve written about my family’s loss due to suicide. I’ve told you about my experiences going through high school feeling like the ugly duckling. I’ve explained my run-away nature and how relationships aren’t always the easiest thing for me. You’ve read about our writers living through depression, lack of self appreciation, their anxieties, their struggles, ​and their own losses.

What you’ve also read is how we managed to turn all of those challenges in our lives around and view them in a positive nature. We battle certain things every single day of our lives, but we still come out on top. We are in control. You are in control. This is real. This is possible. Your happiness is possible. Your fullest life is possible. You are possible.

Life doesn’t happen to you. It happens for you.

Don’t take another moment for granted. When something good happens, do you usually feel thankful for everything in your life that got you to that moment? What about when something bad happens? Do you begin to blame your surroundings? The people who got in your way? The obstacles that messed up your flow? The truth is, life is for us. The longer we hide behind imaginary walls built around fear, the longer we are missing out on everything the world (perhaps even the universe) has to offer us.

Holly Pilcavage

Born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Holly K. Pilcavage, or simply hkp, is the founder of Project Wednesday and is also currently the Director of Business Development & Operations at CoalCreative, an Internet Marketing Company in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Holly was named a 2017 Top 20 Under 40 by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Journal, is a recent graduate of the 2018 Leadership Wilkes-Barre Core Class, as well as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Nominee and TEDx alum. She serves on the Board of Directors for Dress for Success of Luzerne County and attributes her additional time as a servant leader for various organizations throughout Luzerne County. Her truest passion is people. With a background in Business Development, Higher Education, and Life Coaching, Holly focuses her energy on the impact we are all making on one another and the inevitable ripple effect it causes throughout the world. She is currently on a mission to see all 50 states before the exciting age of 30 which means Holly travels as much as possible while taking the time to learn more about people and how we all fit together as individual puzzle pieces.

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