As a little kid, I would climb all the time. On anything and everything, whether it was a tree, or a landscape, or a roof, I was never afraid to just go for it. As I quickly learned, my daredevilish actions resulted in a lot of falling. These little adventures of mine often times caused some pretty nasty cuts and bruises. My parents would constantly tell me “Sage, stop climbing things, you’re going to get all those ugly scars again.” At first, I never paid attention to the scars. Partially because I didn’t care and partially because I could never sit still long enough to notice them. As I got older, though, I started realizing these scars and remembering how I got them. Strangely enough, they brought me a sense of nostalgic joy-memories of innocent, enjoyable times. Plus, they’re always a great conversation topic!

Some of the more severe scars reminded me of horrible times. One in particular that spans in a diagonal line across my right pointer finger to my pinky, brings me chills every time I think about it. I had a gruesome accident in which I almost lost three of my fingers. Although I never wish to relive any incident of that kind again, it has made me stronger. It was some of the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life. So whenever I’m going through any type of suffering, I think: “If you’ve gone through that, you can do this.” It makes me feel strong that I came out of such a terrifying experience as a smarter, more resilient person.

Much like scars, certain events in our lives can haunt us forever-if we give them the power to. Alternatively, we can make them give us the power over future decisions we make. Bad things that happen to you should not be erased, but rather embraced and remembered. Especially if they bring us a sense of pride like mine do. Not to say that scars are the prettiest or most flattering things to have plastered on your body, but we are shaped by our experiences, good or bad. Hardships are just more opportunities to learn and grow. No matter how many you grow through, you will always be a wiser, more knowledgeable person after the fact.

Because of this, I’ve learned to stop looking at my scars with disgust, and start looking at them with a sense of pride.

Graphic by EMILY CHEN