Epiphany

[Kamuro]

[COLOR=Olive][SIZE=1]I've found myself, over the years, doing lots of stupid things. But eventually, I came to terms with them and realized one thing or another leading to me learn, and branch off from the situation. For example, for the longest time, I was trying my best to please everyone. Friends, family, everyone around me. However, no matter how hard I tried it wouldn't work. And one day it just hit me, I was working to please everyone else, and forgetting about myself. I always down, but always busy, trying to help everyone else with their own problems. I was almost ignoring my own life and sacrificing it for that of others. However, after my epiphany, I decided not to be the martyr everyone seemed to expect me to be, and things got a lot better.

Point is, I want to hear your epiphanies. What determinations have you come to over the years? You might just help someone overcome a problem they were having.

Kakashi[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[ChemAngel]

your epiphany is very similar to mine.

I am currently in pharmacy school. To get into this program, I had to be very competitive with my GPA and attend alot of stuff for sake of "adding words to my resume." But never once did I let this competitiveness hurt anyone, I will silently compete with the best students in the class...but I would not tell them, nor would I sabatoge them of any sort. I was simply using them as a baseline for my goals.

When I entered pharmacy school, I went out of my way to help people out. To try to understand as much as I could. Any old exams I would volunteer freely to the people. But once they found out I was at their same level (GPA wise), people who I considered "my friends" began to hide things from me, have secrete "study meetings" without me, share information about the exam within themselves and leave me out. they would even ask ME to pass an old quiz exam to the person NEXT TO ME!

my epiphany: first I realized that GPA isn't everything. I knew that going into pharmacy school. I knew that I really didn't want to go for the "A". I wanted to go for the knowledge...and as much as that might seem the same, it isn't. There are people who simply study for the exam, and don't study to learn from it. I find that futile when you are studying what you will be doing for the rest of your life.

I also realized that trying to help others is nice, but you can't please everyone. And people will eventually make you their enemy, no matter how nice you are to them (there are just some people that drive on jealousy). The point is to make yourself happy. Instead of being upset because that person got an "A" and I got a "B", I ask myself "did I learn?" if the answer is yes, than I should be content.

And if you are with people that make you unhappy because of the way they treat you...there is no point in staying with them in order to be "politically correct" because that just gives them more time to hurt you more.


so to summarize: "damn if you do, and damn if you don't....so you might as well do what makes you happy"

[Goodbye, Face]

I've recently learned that I can't trust that many people. Some of my really close and older friends have changed a lot over the years, into people who betray me. One of my closest friends actually lied to my ex-girlfriend about me in order for her to dump me and go out with him. So, I've been in a social slump recently and have been trying to find a new circle of friends. So I guess that works here.

[SunfallE]

Well my epiphany was when I wanted to commit suicide and ended up in the hospital. I won't go into the details, but I went through quite a bit of abuse. Ironically my desire to end the pain resulted in my getting help. Once I left the hospital after treatment it was like I had been re-born. I learned that those who had been harming me had no right to even be a part of my life. It was like the difference between night and day. In some ways my life before that just doesn't even seem real to me as I am totally different. Not only will I have nothing to do with people who just want to take advantage of me but I've been able to accomplish many of my dreams, like getting a degree in college and having my own house. :animesmil

[COLOR=DarkGreen]"And if you are with people that make you unhappy because of the way they treat you...there is no point in staying with them in order to be "politically correct" because that just gives them more time to hurt you more."[/COLOR]

ChemAngel I totally agree with you on that statement.

[Minako]

After my foreign exchange year, my hardest year to date, I realized that I shouldn't be ashamed of myself. My self esteem is well..not the highest, so I realized that if someone doesn't like me for how I look, and not for what's "on the inside" then they aren't worthy of friendship.

I used to be sort of ashamed to say that I read manga and watched anime, but I'm not anymore. (I know that someone will hate me for saying that...) Why should I be? There are MILLIONS of people all around the world who watch anime/read manga. I'm one of them, so what?

So my epihany is: I won't be ashamed of myself anymore.

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]My major epiphany was this:

At school a couple of years ago, I was really unhappy, as the group of friends I had weren't really "my kind" of people. They were chronically depressed, and were into horrible horrible music, and I just didn't get along with them that well generally.

But then I did one thing which I had been wanting to do for the last two years but my friends seemed to be holding me back. This thing was to audition for the school play. I made a lot of new friends when I was rehearsing the play, and as a result of spending less time with them, I found myself getting along better with my other friends.

So, in one simple action, my life was pretty much turned right around. So what I came to realise was that if I was with a group of people who were holding me back from what I wanted to do, then I shouldn't be with that group. I followed this thought, and, as a result, am a lot happier now than I was before.[/SIZE]

[Kawaii Seth]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]I remember attempting to be that of a savior to others besides myself. By ignoring my own problems in school and continuing to attempt to cure others of their small problems, I was only slightly abusing myself by ignoring the things that I needed most.

I'm not a seflish person at all, but sometimes, I needed to stop and ask myself why I was doing this for others when I could be doing the same for myself. I had a friend who always depressed just because of the fact that her boyfriend broke up with her. I seemed so blind to the fact that while I was helping others every hour of my life, my own life was crashing down. Grades dropping, family members so worried that they argued with me... all that stuff.

Well... I learned that it's always great to help others, but as long as you know to help yourself at the same time and also live life happily every once in awhile too. ^^[/COLOR]

[Kamuro]

[SIZE=1]I really enjoyed reading everyone's epiphanies, I think I learned something. So, would anyone who's already posted like to give an update. Has life changed since you realized? I'd like to expand the piphany conversation. I think it has potential and a lot of people have to realize the potential within themselves.

So my new epiphany is this. People are blind. Many people are unable to see the true motives of people and are unable to respond to actions they are unfamiliar with. The world is not pretty and bright, however, you can make this way if you try hard enough.[/SIZE]

[IceRose]

I've spend my years trying to help people and just come to one simple conclusions: "They are not worth helping". I know is harsh for someone to hear this but throughout my life I've seen the worst kind of people, backstabbers, wanna be friends, hypocrits. I just let to the fact that in this world you have to live for yourself, no one but yourself is gonna help you, no one else is gonna look after you when you are down, you are to trust yourself only.

Helping people is not bad or anything but the same people you've helped before can stabb you, betray you and pretty much turn the world against you. I know because I have lived through the worst kind of situations this year, I was never selfish, never a hypocrite, never mean, but after you are hurt continuously for months and months one learns that no one but yourself can help.

[Blayze]

[size=1]In answer to your question, Kamuro, my epiphany changed my life a hell of a lot, and definitely for the better. I have never before gained so many good, true friends in such a short space of time. This is the time when I am happiest, as my new friends have even helped me to better myself. I never used to do anything for my school, but now, with ym new friends, I have been doing so much more, and it is extremely satisfying. Since the school play, we have organised charity concerts as well as played in them, and we helped to organise a battle of the bands, and one more thing is that with my old group of friends, I would never have been nominated for Head Boy at school, but with my new friends I was (I didn't get it, but it was great to have been nominated anyway).[/size]