What Doesn’t Kill You Makes

You Stronger

Ali Kloska

WRD 110

“Sometimes bad things have to happen

before good things can.”

—Becca Fitzpatrick

Why Do Bad Things Have to

Happen? I went through a really

long stage of low self-esteem and just overall awkwardness

Switching high schools from a school I knew everyone to one I knew no one.

Lost a lot of people in a 4 year period (friend’s dad, my cousin, my grandpa, and a school-mate)

… They Make Us Who We Are

Senior Christian Awakening

Retreat

◦ Listened to a witness talk about

how the lows in our lives help to

make who we are today.

I would be nowhere near who I am

today without everything I went

through

◦ Being positive about as much as

I can (you never know when it

could all end)

◦ Don’t sweat the small stuff! It

isn’t worth the time.

◦ My high school gave me the

ability to be who I wanted to be,

and improved my confidence

incredibly

The First Time I Discussed My

Shift At my AMAZING Christian Awakening

Retreat with my small group

◦ Discussed it at the end of the weekend after

hearing everyone’s life-changing stories

• Small group was very encouraging and

agreed with my opinion that bad things

happen to make us stronger people

They realized it in their own lives as well

Became a long discussion topic

Spreading What I Had Learned:

Retreat Letters Retreat letters to people I hadn’t

talked to in a while

◦ I tried to compare what I had been

through to some of the things they had

been through, and used examples from

my retreat

Peer’s Response: Retreat

Letters A few people were receptive and

came back from retreat and wanted to

talk to me more about what I had

written

Some still haven’t said anything, I like

to think I helped them get through

something they were going through

(maybe?)

Spreading What I Had Learned:

When someone is going through

a hard time Telling people everything is going to

work out in the end

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Peer’s Response: When

someone is going through a hard

time Most of the people I try to express this

to do not want to hear it while they are

going through whatever their problem

is

◦ They occasionally come to the realization

this is true

…and they occasionally do not

Spreading What I Had Learned:

Through my actions I really do try to take everyday as if it

were my last, no regrets.

When I get stressed about something,

I usually have an easy time realizing

that it isn’t as big of a deal as I

originally thought.

HAKUNA MATATA

Peer’s Response: My actions

Several friends have told me to tell my

experiences to other people, and have

suggested I speak at retreats

I’ve been told multiple times that I am

too positive

◦ I take this as a compliment… obviously

My Response To My Position

Shift I believe that with some practice, I can

help other people realize that although life seems really bad, they are going to get through it and become a stronger, better person because of what they have gone through

I think my techniques could use a little work◦ I need to be more understanding that people

are not going to agree with me the majority of the time

In Closing…

Everything really is going to work out

in the end. Period.

◦ No matter how long it seems to be taking,

or how bad the situation is. YOU WILL

GET THROUGH IT!

Works Cited

Fitzpatrick, Becca. "Quotes About Bad

Things Happen." (5 Quotes). N.p., n.d.

Web. 18 Sept. 2012.

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/

bad-things-happen