There comes a time in every person’s life where a major transition takes place. A massive shift in momentum that makes your whole world shake, then stop for a few moments. Those few moments can seem like a lifetime. It’s pain, hurt, grief and despair all rolled into one little ball. It can be a little hard to take sometimes. However, we need to keep in mind that no matter how many earthquakes, nuclear catastrophes, tornadoes, tsunamis or crazy dictators appear, the world has to keep turning. Your world has to keep turning too. Moving on is something that is difficult and agonizing at times. Although one needs to remember, disappointments are to the soul what thunderstorms are to the sky. That is, things may seem a massive load of hurt, but just like thunderstorms, they’ll pass.

The first experience I had with the complicated trek that is moving forward, was when I was eleven. Within the space of a few months my grandmother had passed away and both my sister moved out of home. Since my family has always been a very tightly-knit unit, it was a devastating blow to me. I can remember, at only eleven, feeling so sad that all I wanted to do was cry at times. It was a hard, and there were moments when I wondered if things would be the same. However, I have wonderful parents who pulled me out of my funk and helped me to move on. Just because my sisters didn’t live with me anymore didn’t mean that I’d never see them again. My Grandmother might have been gone, but she would never have wanted me to dwell over her passing. She was never that woman. So I decided to move on.

It can be tough choice to move on from the past, but it is something that everyone needs to do in order to move forward with their life. Without the decision to get over the occurrences of the past and look towards the future, humankind wouldn’t be where we are today. If Steven Spielberg had chosen not to move on from the assorted set backs of Jaws, he wouldn’t have become the multi-million dollar, acclaimed director and screenwriter he is today. It’s making the choice to move forward in spite of several things attempting to hold you back. For Spielberg it was several budget cuts and a production company threatening to shut down his big break. He persevered through all these difficulties and reaped the rewards because of it.

Recently, I’ve had several incidents where after feeling depressed and horrible for days — even weeks at some points — I’ve made the excruciating decision to forget the hurt of the past and focus on my future. In my case, people who I thought were friends and roommates turned out to be quite the opposite. After weeks of feeling like I couldn’t trust people, I made the executive decision that letting this run my life was ridiculous. I couldn’t let one painful moment of my life potential ruin the rest of it. I decided to move on. I now have a wonderful roomy who I can trust. Then of course, there was a boy. We had very different opinions on what was and had been going on between us. After a week or so of simmering on my feelings of hurt and confusion, I decided that I was too young to be feeling like this. I made the decision to create a better future for myself. I moved on.

While, once again, it’s a tough choice to pull yourself out of the pits of despair, it’s the right choice. It’s not healthy both physically or mentally to sit on the issues that are bringing you down. As our friend, Albus Dumbledore said “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live”. He couldn’t have said it better. Moving on is good for the soul. It’s a burden lifted and it feels a lot better without the weight on your shoulders. Sometimes you might need someone else to give you a little shove towards your future. Asking for help is not something to be ashamed of. Whether it’s family, friends or a professional, you’re not a failure, you’re not pathetic and you’re not burdening others by asking for some support. The future is what you make it to be. So make the decision to move on and make your future the best one possible.