Writers are cursed. Tolkien, Lewis, Steinbeck, Doyle, Poe; all cursed. They too were forced to depict colorful, heart-stopping, mind boggling images and feelings with descriptionless characters stamped in black and white.
They felt the desire — no, the need — to try and describe the impossible to those who did not have the ability to imagine. They tried and tried, and in the end lost in the game that no one could win.  How do you describe the color blue to a person without the ability to see? How do they describe darkness? Trying to write how my life and the things I’ve seen up until now is exactly like this.
In the past three years, I’ve seen coffins built way too small, hugged families whose lives had been torn apart and have had to try and convince friends that their lives were worth living.
I’ve had people look at me and devalue my worth because of my gender, GPA and economic standing. I’ve been told no, lied to, stolen from, beaten down and underestimated.  I’ve failed, fallen, tripped, sunk and have landed myself in positions in which I felt defeated and lost.
In these instances, I’ve found myself in states of shock, hurt, anger, sadness, despair and in levels of emotions I do not have the words to describe. I’ve questioned everything that happened in my life up until those points, asked for answers from a god I did not know and tried to make sense of things that were senseless. In all these times I failed to acknowledge the reality of what was around me all along. The reality that is life.
Life is messy, ugly, unpredictable and unexpected. It’s frustrating and annoying. It whirls you around and knocks you on your back in situations where there is no one around to help you up. It is unforgiving and does not discriminate or relent. Despite all of this, it is still good.
Because of the bad, I can see the good.
I know better than I have ever known of what is truly important. I know struggling is natural, because it means you are growing. I know mistakes are okay, but not learning from them is not. And I know recognizing you’re going down a wrong path just means you have more time to turn around and find the one you’re meant to follow.
My path has taken me so many places. I’ve met people from all walks of life, traveled around the world, learned another language and have learned lessons I never expected. All of these experiences have impacted me in ways that are difficult to illustrate.
Like I said in the beginning, words are limited and writers are cursed.
As a writer, it drives me insane that I cannot portray or describe in any way what this life and the people in my life have brought me.  The words have no meaning as I read them on paper, as the people are so much more than letters can show written down.
All I can say is the beauty and amazingness of life is surrounding yourself with people who love, stand by you and support you. People who embrace you, who you can relate to, who you can count on and who raise you up. The people who are lights in a world that a lot of times feels like it’s filled with darkness. These are the people who make life good.
Whether it is my family, my coworkers and friends in The Battalion office, people I’ve interviewed for various articles, random friends I have met in class, the little girl who taught me how to dream, or the cop who struck up a conversation — these are the people who have given me strength through difficult times and the people whose guidance will stick with me throughout the rest of my life.
To those people — you know who you are — thank you.
To the other people reading this, the ones who have no clue who I am, listen to me.
Life is going to get difficult. You’re going to have another test or assignment you forgot to do or study for. Your car is going to break down at the worst possible moment, the amount in your bank account will drop to only a few cents. Always remember it is going to be okay, matter what it is.
Broken things are meant to be fixed, not thrown away; second chances are a necessity; strength is a process; your intelligence and self worth is not measured by a grade and some of the best things require you to wait. Find your people and keep them close. Be good, be strong and never quit.
See a light in everything. If you don’t see one, be one.
Matthew 6:22 “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light.”
Kylee Reid is an international studies senior and science and technology writer for The Battalion.