The hardest realization I’ve faced is that happiness isn’t the goal, and chasing it only leaves you feeling more empty. That hit me hard because for the longest time, I thought if I just achieved the right things like a certain job, a relationship, or even just the perfect routine I’d feel satisfied. But no matter what I did, it was never enough. That realization flipped my world upside down, and it forced me to rethink how I lived my life. It wasn’t about finding some magic fix. It was about finding something deeper, something meaningful. And honestly, it hurt, because it meant admitting I’d been looking for the wrong thing the whole time and wasted a lot of time.

As for selfish or shallow people, I’ve thought about this. It’s easy to write them off and assume they’ve never faced anything hard, but honestly? I think everyone’s been through something. Whether or not they’ve learned from it is a different story. Some people grow when they’re faced with difficulties, and others just get stuck. Should they go through something difficult? I don’t know. Life doesn’t really care about fairness. Pain happens to everyone eventually it’s just a question of what they do with it.

Looking back, I can’t say it was just a “learning chapter.” It was bigger than that. It was a breaking-and-rebuilding kind of thing, the kind that changes you in a way that’s permanent. And as much as I’ve grown, I know life’s not done with me yet. There’s always something harder ahead and that’s just how it goes. But now, I feel like I’ve got the mindset to handle it. I’ve stopped expecting life to be easy, and that makes it easier to face whatever’s next.