Quotes that Speak to Me: Matched

I recently started writing down quotes from books, movies, or other places that speak to me. I thought it would make a fun series to share these quotes and my thoughts about them.

I related to this quote right away. I've written before about the difficulty of moving away from home and how things are never the same. I'm sure this isn't just true for people who move away from home, but it's just a natural part of growing up. 

I grew up in a small town where we had one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. I went to school with most of the same people my whole life. My friends were people who had been my friends my entire life. When we graduated high school, things changed a little. Overall, though, we still kept in touch and hung out when we could. 

After graduating college, we entered the "real world." Everyone went their own way. People got married. People got new jobs. People moved to new places. Soon some were having kids. We were living our own lives. We grew apart. 

Regardless of the fact that I've grown apart from many of my friends, that doesn't mean they don't still hold a special place in my heart. If they needed me, I'd be there for them however I could. If there was a chance to hang out with old friends, I'd take it. I still like to keep up with what they're doing through social media and word of mouth. They were a major part of my life and I'm thankful for that.

Our roots are tangled. We were a major part of each other's lives for those vital years of growing up.  Like the quote says, growing apart doesn't change this fact. Change is never easy and I think changing relationships is one of the most difficult changes to deal with. 

Have you experienced growing apart from friends? Are you still thankful for those friendships? Can you relate to this quote? 

Quotes That Speak to Me: Perks of Being a Wallflower

I recently started writing down quotes from books, movies, or other places that speak to me. I thought it would make a fun series to share these quotes and my thoughts about them.

How many times do you hear people say or maybe you've said it yourself (I know I have) "Well, you should just be thankful you're not like so-and-so" or "At least ___________ didn't happen to you like so-and-so." You know what I'm talking about. It's when you or someone else is trying to make someone feel better by comparing the situation to someone else's and showing them how things could be worse. People do this to try and make someone feel better, but does it really help?

I know I've even been guilty of saying this to my husband when he gets so sick. I remind him that his sickness will go away, it's not deadly, etc. I try to remind him that there are people in the world dealing with much worse. I even tell it to myself when I start feeling sorry for myself. I try to remember that there are people in the world dealing with much worse.

In the end, though, we're all selfish and self-centered. It's natural. Some more so than others, but we all have that tendency. When we go through hard times, we tell ourselves that no one understand us or no one else has had to deal with what I'm going through. We believe our situation is more terrible than someone else's situation because their situation is happening to them, but my situation is happening to me.

So, that brings me to this quote. I loved this quote because it reminded me that yes, there are people out there who might be dealing with worse things than me. In the end, though, that doesn't change the fact that I may be going through a hard time. It doesn't make my hard time any easier. If you're not going though the difficult situation, but you're dealing with someone who is, it doesn't change the fact that they're going through a hard time just because other people have it worse.

 When people are going through hard times, they want to be shown love. They want to know that people care. They don't want to be made to feel like what they're going through isn't that big of a deal.

On the other hand, maybe you're that person dealing with one of those "worse situations" people refer to. Maybe you have bitter feelings towards people dealing with things you consider "not so bad." You hate to hear them complain because you would rather be in their situation than your own. I know this is natural and I have felt this way. However, I think it's important to remember going through a difficult time is difficult no matter where it falls on the scale from bad to worse.

Basically what I'm trying to say is let's stop comparing how bad our situations are to someone else's. Let's accept the fact that bad is bad, and let's show some sympathy. For me, this is easier to do out loud than in my heart. Even if you pretend to sympathize with someone, you can be dealing with ugly thoughts. I know I need to work on my attitude in this matter.

How do you sympathize with people who are going through a hard time? What have been some  ways people have helped you through hard times? Do you like being reminded that there are people dealing with something worse? Have you ever been guilty of thinking someone else's situation wasn't as bad as yours? I'd love to know your thoughts on this quote!