There is an age-old question that has two different answers depending on how you look at it: Is the glass half full, or is it half empty? The philosophers say the way you answer this question, determines how you look at life, but I raise this question: A glass of water is just an object, how can we accurately look at life by looking at an inanimate object?
I’ll be the first to tell you that things don’t always go to plan, and when things blow up, it can be hard to find the bright side of things. Let me give you a little story time about my summer. I recently got an opportunity to study abroad, though it was not a traditional study abroad experience. I took a class at Winthrop about Greek mythology, and at the end of the semester, I got to travel to Greece and Italy. The best part was that I was going to take this trip with two of my closest friends and my boyfriend at the time. I had dreams about this romantic trip I got to experience with a guy I really liked. What I didn’t expect, however, was getting dumped on the last day of the trip. Talk about a main character experience, am I right?
While the trip was amazing in every way, and I would recommend traveling abroad to every college student (article coming soon) I did end the trip in tears. I was heartbroken because every expectation I had set up in my head had crumbled right in front of me. This experience got me thinking about silver linings, simply because I couldn’t find one in this scenario. All of the expectations I had set up for myself came crashing down in the span of a couple of days. Looking back, that experience is something I will never forget, but not in the way I had previously expected.
A silver lining for that trip was hard to find, but here’s what I took from it. I gave myself expectations that were from a rom-com or a day dream in my human anatomy class. When I learned to not have high expectations, I learned there is way more in life to be grateful for. I went on this trip expecting to enter a new level of my relationship and come back a changed woman (which would have not ended well, by the way). I lost sight of why I had wanted to go on the trip in the first place. I got to see some of the oldest monuments on Earth, travelled throughout the Grecian countryside (absolutely gorgeous), and got to eat some of the best food I had ever tasted. I saw the Sistine Chapel and all of the amazing art inside of it. On top of it, I was with some of my closest friends, and that made the experience ten times better. When I stopped focusing on the fantasy in my head, I realized that the real world was even better.
College is going to be a place where it’s hard to find a silver lining. There will be times when it’s the best time of your life, and there will be times when it’s the worst. When I failed my first exam in a college class, I was so disappointed in myself, I had these expectations that I would be amazing and the smartest person in the class immediately. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. I had to train myself to find the silver lining in that scenario. Instead of “Wow, I suck” I started thinking “I can’t believe I got that problem right! That one was difficult when I was studying,” or “I can’t believe I passed. That was a hard exam.” It’s not an easy thing to do, but when you force yourself to point out silver linings, you’ll be surprised how much your life can light up!
Before I would think about my trip and immediately feel sad. How could I not, I mean a breakup overseas was very humbling for me. I started thinking about how I got to live out my Mamma Mia! dreams with my besties. I drank wine, danced, and experienced more culture than I had ever before. Did it suck? Hell yes. Would I do it again? Hell to the yes! I would love to go back spend more time basking in the glory of the world. Besides, I think I dodged a bullet anyways.