I seen a baby cry then seconds later she laughed, the beauty of life, the pain never last. - J. Cole

It's been a long year.
It's been a rough year.
I look back at some of it and want to scream.

I look back at a lot of it and want to smile.

Is there any gift greater, than one conquering his own demons?
Than facing the darkness within and winning?
Advancing from an ordinary version of themselves and becoming extraordinary?
Shedding away an old, unwanted layer of limitations because conquering the darkness is conquering yourself?
Learning to swim after being cast off into a sea of bitterness and pain?
Learning to be an individual in their own right?

It’s a beautiful thing, seeing someone transform into their own person.

Someone unique and undefined, something that the Earth is yet to see and experience.

It is one of the most precious things that my eyes shall ever set it's sights on.

It is not the pain that defines us, it is how we manage it.

Pain is temporary but habits become who we are and define where we are going.