Youll Never Walk Alone

ARTICLE BY MATTY

I’ve found myself repeatedly finding the same conclusion over the past year: life is a process, a process that continually changes you and either makes you better or makes you worse. That choice to be better or worse is ultimately up to you. Nothing is ever stagnant in life, but I think that’s how it was meant to be. I’ve undergone a lot of change in this past year. My pursuit of knowledge and understanding has given me a much better outlook on life, established a more rational order to how I view things, and quite honestly I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. This season for football was so much fun for me. I didn’t let it consume me like I have in past years. I enjoyed it as the game it is and understood there’s more important things in my life to accomplish.

Life being a natural progression at a micro level for each and every one of us meant I probably should’ve seen it coming. The timing of everything is truly perfect. I fell in love with Kate, saw an opportunity, and initially saw it rebuffed. I was heartbroken, more than I’d ever been before. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Kate is special to me. I’ve never met a woman as likeminded as me. We see eye to eye on so many things. We both love cooking, I did Irish dance while she did ballet, we both love the gym, we both admire theology, perhaps most importantly we have very similar hearts. Very empathetic, compassionate, and kind. I’d always had a checklist of sorts that I wanted from a partner, nothing really related to looks but more so inherent qualities. She checked all the boxes, made me realize I had more requirements on the checklist than I thought, and then she checked all those boxes too. She started dating a friend of mine, it predictably crashed and burned, and there I was to pick up the pieces. We got to know each other more and more, eventually she fell in love with me and asked me out. It’s been fantastic so far.

I don’t mean to write this article sounding like “True love is waiting for you if you just go out and search for it”, because that’s BS. What I am saying is that there is always hope. It’s not lost on me that this is Men’s Mental Health month. I’m thankfully not fighting that battle in my mind anymore, but I know what it’s like to be in that struggle. I’m beyond thankful I chose to keep fighting. Now I don’t have to fight anymore. My life definitely isn’t perfect, there’s always room to improve and there’s a lot of situations that aren’t particularly great. I think I have what I need to succeed now, though. I’ve got the right people around me to help me continue to grow as a person. I’ve got the ultimate motivation to keep me on track to pursue new heights, it’s not just myself that I have to think about, provide for, take care of. And there’s a beauty in that.

Human beings were never meant to be alone. We are naturally social beings, we crave connection with other people. We crave love, finding that special connection that adds so much joy to our lives. Community matters so much. The people we surround ourselves with can often dictate our own lives, our own actions. I’ve made so many amazing friends in this past year, truly great people who’ve helped me grow in so many ways. It’s important that people never walk alone, while having time alone and being comfortable with the idea of being alone is beneficial, we still need that connection to others to help us thrive. This community is important to me, especially important now.

In conclusion, my life, despite the challenges I face, continues to get better. I’ve found someone who loves me as much as I love her. I’ve surrounded myself with a strong community and good friends. No matter where life takes me from here, I’ve got a foundation that won’t be shaken. Nobody’s walking alone here.