Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has had a bad experience. Whether it be a brief embarrassing scenario that everyone seems to have forgotten or a more significant experience, like a toxic relationship, these different events have made an impact on our lives. For precisely this reason, I am appreciative of my bad experiences. And no, I am not thankful for the sleepless nights brought on by these unpleasant experiences, which kept me awake for hours at a time. I am thankful for the lessons learned as a result of them.

I vividly recall the day my foot slipped as I was rushing up the stairs of A-building during my freshman year of high school. My jaw smacked onto the concrete stairs, and the person who had unfortunately witnessed the entire incident asked if I was okay. I awkwardly nodded my head, despite the fact that I was only a few seconds away from tears. Now, it may seem unnecessary to bring up this situation, but it was these small experiences that taught me so much. You would think not running up a flight of stairs at full speed is common sense, but for me, the idea didn’t physically or figuratively hit me until I directly felt the full consequences of acting recklessly.

My bad experiences protect me from foolishly repeating my mistakes over and over again, which is the beauty of them. How would I know to avoid those questionable information-stealing websites or to not “relax” my eyes when my alarm goes off for school if I’ve never suffered the repercussions of doing so? 

While I’ve mostly discussed minor experiences, the same concept can be applied to my personal life-changing events. Major negative experiences have brought me to my lowest point, but overcoming them not only made me mentally stronger, but also shaped my personal values and beliefs.

Life has a balance of bad and good experiences, but I believe my negative experiences have  taught me more than my positive experiences ever will. Of course I don’t go about my day wishing bad experiences upon myself, but when they do inevitably happen, I make sure I gain from them and utilize them to broaden my perspective on life.

Photo courtesy of Jose Luis Navarro