Sometimes living can feel a bit like beating your head against a wall. You keep trying to accomplish your goals and break through the glass ceiling, but something always brings you down. As you softly sob into your pillow, you curse the gods, scream into the sky, and question why life has to be so hard.

It may seem like the deck is stacked against you and that the skies will look grey forever. Eventually, though, you find sunnier weather because no matter what life throws your way, you live and you learn.

You live even after the heartache of losing your first love, even though it takes some time.

You survive the emotional pain of the dark days, and you put yourself out into the dating world again when the time is right. You learn to be more cautious and protective of your heart, but you also learn that though not all love lasts forever, it creates beautiful memories along the way. So when your heart hurts, remember that you can live and learn through it.

After you eating all of the ice cream in your freezer and watch entirely too much daytime television, you’ll start moving on. You’ll go out with friends once again or reconnect with the loved ones you neglected while you were sick with puppy love. You’ll eventually start searching for your soulmate once again, but this time you’re equipped with all the lessons that your breakup so thoughtfully provided.

You learn from the most embarrassing blunders, even though in the moment, all you want to do is disappear.

After all, some of life’s greatest gifts, like Penicillin and Post-it notes, actually came as complete accidents. Eventually, like those unexpected inventors, you’ll pick yourself up and live through those mortifying moments, even if yours involve underwear or passing gas.

After you emerge from the rock you likely hid under immediately after your mortifying moment, you’ll learn from your embarrassment. You’ll develop a thicker skin and learn how to roll with the punches. You may also turn your embarrassing moment into a future anecdotal lesson or throw it into a stand-up comedy sketch. They say that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, and those moments when you just want the world to swallow you up are no exception.

You live through trials and tribulations like job loss and financial stress.

While you may feel like climbing out of your twenty-something debt is an impossible feat, you eventually survive. You learn to run a tight financial ship and work a side hustle when you must. So when your bills keep piling up, remember that there are plenty of creative solutions to help you make it to the end of the month.

After you’ve overdrafted your account too many times and maxed out your credit cards, though, you’ll eventually move the needle in the right direction. You’ll change your spending habits or find a new job that does more than just pay the bills. Once you find a bit of financial stability, you’ll start breathing a bit more easily and feeling more confident about your way of life.

You learn from lapses in judgement and times when you compromise your values for someone else’s sake.

You may feel like you can no longer continue living when you make choices that go against your values. But it’s in the darkest moments that we truly find ourselves once more. Although you initially may wonder how you can live with yourself after making choices that ultimately broke your moral code, you will eventually find the path towards self-acceptance.

After wrestling with the shame of your transgressions, you’ll redeem yourself and come out on top. You’ll confess your sins to your higher power, then simply let them go. You’ll forgive yourself and see that deep down inside, you’re still the same lovely person that you’ve always been. Your shortcomings don’t make you any less beautiful; they just prove that you’re human.

Whether you’re experiencing a great loss or just a temporary state of confusion, right now, it may be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Regardless, I hope that you’ll listen to your voice of reason. No matter what life gives you, whether it’s lemons or a bit of rain, there’s nothing you can’t handle. Eventually you’ll grow from the struggles because eventually, we all live and learn.