Author Quotes: Lewis.

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” -C.S. Lewis

This little nugget of hope was recently posted over at Nhan-Fiction, and it was a great reminder to come across at this point in my life. I’ve always been a fan of Lewis, though his philosophy on many things differs from my own. This, however, is something that I can’t help but agree with, and not just because I’ve encountered my fair share of hardships. Well, okay, the hardships of my past and present help me appreciate this quote for what it is, and it’s a great reminder when those hardships come around.

If I had the chance to go back and change anything about my life, I wouldn’t change a god damn thing. The wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey aspects of cause and effect aside, the person I am today is all because of the person I was in the past, and all the choices she made, whether they were good or bad, and all the things that happened to her, whether they were uplifting or tragic. Without the experiences of my past, I would not have the outlook I have on life today. There’s a possibility I might have grasped onto this full-time writing thing earlier; there’s a possibility I wouldn’t even have a book published right now if my life had kept on the course it was one before it went off the tracks. I can’t even express how many times I realize that the path I’m on right now just feels right. Now is the time. I would not have had the strength and conviction and self-awareness I have now if I tried to do this five years ago. My hardships are leading me, a pretty ordinary person (in most respects, haha!), on an extraordinary path, and I’m loving every minute of it.

Would it have been nice to have not gone through some of the craziness or tragedy that I’ve gone through? Sure. But would I be the same person I am now if I hadn’t? Probably not.

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right?