What are hardships/difficulties in life you had to get past & now hardly affect you? Did they make you a better person in the end?

I'm in the mood to be inspired.

Tell us what hardships you're facing.

Divorce. It did change me actually. The divorce is the main reason I don't give a **** about most things accept for things I like. I found myself forcing myself not to care about what was going on in the house. And now I'm nonchalant about most things. And honestly it's made me happier. Not caring about certain things really does make life, well at least mine, easier and stress free.

I had (well, technically have but oh well) autism & it affected me a lot when I was younger. But thankfully I got the help I needed early. In 9th grade, I was taken off my program which I had had throughout elementary & middle that gave me "help" in school. The gist of that plan was that I was in regular classes but got help when I needed it from other adults in school who had that job. I never had behavioral problems & only occasionally needed the help in elementary. By the time I was in middle school, I didn't need the help at all, I was pretty much a completely normal, functioning middle schooler. At the time, I was embarrassed. So in 9th grade I wasn't in the plan's systems anymore.

I'm now a completely normal teenager, no social problems or intelligence problems. There's nothing about me that would either lead people to suspect anything.

I'm still vocal about the cause though. I feel for kids who struggle with it more than I ever did.

Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes was difficult, but it's all about learning to adjust to a change of lifestyle. I've felt so many different emotions, especially anger and frustration. There's that whole cliche about how eating like a fat kid causes diabetes but that's not the kind of person I am or ever was. Type 1 is a genetic condition, so ignoring other people's opinions was the biggest hardship I guess. Plus the diet, but you adjust. It's actually been a positive thing because I'm an even healthier eater than I was before.

I refused to get help for anything but now I know how much it helps.

I also now don't get phased by people who insult me, I used to like cry about it but now I'm just like Lol.

If you do, that way he will learn to deal with it and become and understand same sex orientations now.

I used to not accept my sexuality. My parents used to tell me how weird gay people are as a little child and say how wrong it is, so I thought the same thing when I got older. When I realized that men are my type, I was devastated and tried my best to try to become straight and have some interest in girls. At the beginning of the school year (Sept 2011), I've read many stories and commercials about gays being bullied, committing suicide, etc. Also, I met a gay friend this year, and he is probably the nicest person I've ever met. I found out that it's just best to be yourself and not to change yourself for others (tried to become straight so my parents wouldn't hate me). I still haven't came out to them yet though (planning to come out later this school year). However, I am so much more open in school and around my friends, sister, and close cousins.

A lot. Too much for ATRL probably.

Major ones that I don't mind divulging include bullying, drug and alcohol addiction, and a mental breakdown.

My Speech and Debate team sucked when I was a freshman. It took my hard work and trailblazing for four years to get it anywhere, as opposed to every other big school team that had established amazingness for decades before.

Depression,social anxiety and me being bipolar
I was also bullied and recently stopped cutting

I've had many hardships that I have overcome, but I still have many more that I haven't overcome.

I don't feel like I've been through anything, tbh. I just kept everything bottled up inside.

My feelings, my sexuality, my identity, etc.


I mean, I guess you could say that me becoming A Christian and **** would be me overcoming ****. I mean, I WAS HEAVILY depressed and other ****. But at the same I ****ed that up, so...

When I first started realizing I liked guys, I began cutting myself. It got really bad. I knew I liked girls so I tried just liking them, but it didn't work. Then I tried just liking guys and it still didn't work. Dealing with bisexuality is the most confusing thing ever and ****s with your mind.

Then I came out to my mom by leaving a note on her bed that said 'I'm a ****ing ******". She saw the cuts on my wrist one day and outed me to my dad. They were okay with it, but I still wasn't. I went to therapy for the cutting. Then things got better.

Then I had to deal with soccer, school, and work and I broke down and started cutting again and tried to kill myself. I went to a psychiatrist and got diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

A year later, I'm out to everyone, I have a beautiful girlfriend, and I no longer need medication. Also my wrist has been cut free since February 2011

I Had people treat me like **** because of my sexuality, and I guess finding myself was another obstacle

When I was 15, I became severely depressed because of bullying that was going on at school (and had been going on since I was 10). Looking back, I have no idea how I made it through because it was, by FAR, the most difficult thing I've ever been through and hopefully ever will. I literally thought about ending it all every. single. day. I felt like I was too far in and I couldn't be pulled out and like I should just give up because I had sank so low. About a year and a half after it first started, it finally went away and even though I've had some rough spots since then, the fullblown depression hasn't come back and it's been 3-4 years. I'm so proud of myself for holding on and coming out stronger on the other side. I don't know how I did it but I did