Letter to my Mommy

Dear mom,
You have dealt with me and my weirdness for eighteen years (and counting). Many have led me to believe that the exact second that I turned eighteen and go off to college, that you would be out of the equation. But in all honesty, I know that I will bother you no matter where I go. Because you see, you have been my one and true friend since birth, so something as minor as college can't get rid of me. As much as I would love to say that I will continue to find a reason to talk to you or see you just to annoy you, but I would be partially lying. Moving away on my own is scary and exciting all at once, but I really don't know how life will be without seeing you everyday. I know you think of me as mature and that I will be fine on my own, and why should I argue with you when you are right? But independence is frightening. I know that although I will have to learn to be on my own and handle situations that I would usually think "My mom will deal with it", I will always need you. And that right there is what lets me know that I will be okay. Realizing that I will always have someone there for me no matter how alone I feel, knowing that I will always have you in my life will be enough for me. So thank you mommy. For not only dealing with me on all of those nights when I was up until two in the morning trying to finish assignments, upset for what seemed like no reason, or just when I get too goofy and I annoyed you to the point where I know you wanted to hit me (and sometimes you would be I would just laugh it off). But I just want you to know how grateful I am to have stability in this uncertain life of ours and I hope that even when I doubt myself that you will continue to be proud of me and see me as someone that I hope that I am.
Love Lauren aka Lolly    

Frankl-y Speaking

While reading this book, a quote that really stuck with me was in the preface. Frankl says "to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. If there is a purpose in life at all, there must be a purpose in suffering and in dying." This quote made me stop and think about all of the things that I have faced. I always was that person that believed that everything happens for a reason. So even when I wish this bad thing or that bad thing never happened to me, I always end up thinking " If I didn't live through this, then that good thing most likely wouldn't have happened." This quote also made me think that everything about our existence has a meaning even the very small things.

But what also comes to mind while trying to process the quote, I recall when Frankl later says how if there is no meaning in suffering, then there is no meaning in surviving, which leads to life not being worth living at all. And also, I remember hearing or reading that even when someone survives, they can only focus on the suffering and can't find a meaning in it. That combined with life not being worth living if there's no meaning in suffering and surviving, I wonder: Is that the point where people make the choice to take their own lives? When there is no purpose and absolutely no meaning in their lives, is that when they decide that there is no point of continuing with life?