Make Your Bed

Recently I read a book called “Make Your Bed”, by Admiral William H. McRaven. Now I’m going to show you a final passage from the book and tell you what both you and I need to take away from it...

”Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and you will often fail. But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up he downtroeden, and never, ever give up. If you do these things you will change your life for the better... and maybe even the world.”

Now that’s some pretty good advice, so, let’s use it.

Lets start off with “start each day with a task completed”, now he means to make your bed every morning so you have something to count on even when everything around you changes, always be consistent. Right now I need consistency more than ever, because if I am being honest with you and myself, I am struggling right now. But every morning I have begun to “make my bed”. I put quotes because well I sleep with a single yellow blanket, so making my bed is picking the blanket off the floor and unraveling how I threw it around in the night. But also, every morning I wake up, make iced coffee, take a shower, and water my plants. This is my consistent routine, and even on the days when I’m down and struggling to get out of bed, I do this consistently, because it has become a source of comfort, a way of feeling prepared for the day and starting off my morning with something that makes me feel successful.

Now respect everyone, and find someone to help you through life in my opinion go together. The idea behind both of these is pretty straightforward but there’s something I would like to share about it. Of course I have friends and family who love me, but the most helpful and kind support I get personally is from my teachers. It’s pretty known that I am a teachers pet, but this is because of course I work hard to get to know them and it helps a little that my mother knows some personally, but even the ones who don’t know my mom or have me in a lot of classes are my biggest supporters, because I respect them. This weekend was my birthday and about 8 of the teachers I had once in the past 3 years came to my house and gave me gift cards and candy and wished me a happy birthday. This is not because I’m special or bribe them, it’s because when I was in their class I showed them respect and honesty, and in return they gave me trust and support. You can count on other people to be there for you, and they will be watching your back if you show them the unwavering respect they deserve.

Now on to failure, taking risks, and stepping up when times are the toughest. In his book he remarks about a time he was in the mud pits in the dark and cold, when everyone was ready to give up one person began to sing, the whole class joined and they made it through the night. When I was in volleyball I had to do gruesome conditioning with my sisters team, although they this doesn’t compare to the physical struggle the admiral was put through in the book, it does relate. We all lied there doing “five inchers” and one girl began to sing the ABCs. As silly as it is, we all had fun and sung along, we all made it through practice without stopping or having to add more reps.

Im going to tell you a little more personal a story, about 5 months ago I was in a crisis center being interviewed to see if I had to go into care, and as I sat there waiting for the counselor to come back, it began to rain. The rain is beautiful in the night time. I stood at the window watching the rain and I began to sing and smile as it poured outside. I didn’t have to leave the chair, I could have sat there and cried like I wanted to, but instead I looked up and smiled, I looked at the positive. I had failed, I had given up and been hurting, but just the smallest detail of the rain hitting the ground gave me the courage to smile again.

Finally is to face down bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never ever give up. If you hadn’t noticed, I didn’t give up. I’m still here, still kicking day after day. When I was little there was a girl named Molly at my church camp, she would constantly call me vulgar names along with telling me I was unlovable and ugly. Each day I snapped back, I told her to stop and said those things weren’t true. A couple years later my mother asked me what I would do if a kid I knew, or didn’t know, got bullied and beaten up right in front of me. I told her I would get in the way and probably beat the bully up in the process, if you know how feisty I am, you know that’s the definite case. The answer is always to help the helpless, to defend those who can’t defend themselves. Because the real question is, wouldn‘t you want the same done for yourself?

Its important to stand up to the bullies, if I had I would of loved myself a long time ago, I wouldn’t be hurting right now or needing an escape. I would have healed already. But that’s why we have to do it, why we have to stand up to the bullies and lift the downtrodden because sometimes they can’t do it themselves, it’s our job to help. We are responsible if we do nothing.

Never give up. I don’t need to explain anything with this one, it just is. Never give up. Life’s rough, we all know that, we all have experienced upsets and downfalls but we have to keep going. Even if we don’t want to, because guess what? The world keeps spinning.

Anyways, I hope y’all are doing well and I truly hope you will read this book, it’s absolutely amazing.