life by the reins and says, “This is my story, and I will decide how it unfolds.” It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of adversity, to let the weight of loss, disappointment, or trauma press down so hard that it feels impossible to breathe. But the truth is, even in those moments, especially in those moments, you hold a kind of power that no one else can take from you: the power to choose how you respond.

Your past, no matter how dark or tumultuous, is not a cage—it’s a forge. The trials you endure temper you like steel. They burn, they hurt, and they might leave scars, but they also create strength. Every tear shed, every sleepless night, every time you wanted to give up but didn’t, has shaped you into someone capable of resilience. Someone who can endure. Someone who can rise.

But let’s be honest: rising isn’t glamorous. It’s messy and exhausting. It’s falling down seven times and forcing yourself to stand on the eighth, even when your legs are shaking and your spirit feels like it’s on the brink of breaking. It’s asking yourself hard questions and sitting with uncomfortable answers. It’s learning, over and over again, that growth rarely feels good in the moment.

Think of the stories that inspire us most—the heroes who started in places of pain, loss, or struggle. Bruce Wayne didn’t choose to lose his parents. He didn’t ask for that defining moment of grief, but it propelled him toward a purpose greater than himself. And while none of us are putting on a cape and patrolling rooftops at night (unless you are, in which case, that’s incredible), we each have the potential to channel our hardships into something transformative.

You don’t have to become “better” overnight. Growth isn’t a linear process; it’s a jagged, messy climb with plenty of missteps along the way. But each time you choose to keep climbing—when you refuse to let your pain define you or your circumstances dictate your worth—you’re writing the next chapter of your story. And that chapter, my friend, is yours.

So, yes, cry when you need to. Scream into the void if it helps. Let yourself feel the full weight of what’s happening without pretending it doesn’t hurt. But when the tears dry and the screaming quiets, ask yourself: What’s my next move? Not in the grand, “fix everything all at once” kind of way, but in the small, manageable sense. What’s one thing you can do today to reclaim a little bit of your power?

That power might look like setting a boundary, saying no to something draining, or saying yes to something that scares you. It might look like reaching out for support, journaling through the pain, or simply taking a deep breath and reminding yourself that you’ve survived everything life has thrown at you so far.

Your origin story doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. It’s yours, and that’s what makes it extraordinary. Every mistake, every triumph, every heartbreak has brought you here, to this moment, where you get to decide what happens next.

And if you take nothing else from this, remember: the strongest, most resilient people aren’t the ones who’ve never fallen. They’re the ones who fell and got back up. So let this be your Dark Knight Rises, your phoenix moment. Let the challenges refine you, not define you. Be the hero of your own story, one choice, one step, one day at a time. Because you, my friend, are already a badass, strong motherfucker—you just have to keep proving it to yourself.