Staff Writer: Savannah Phillips
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news…” the doctor said as he entered my room in the ER. At that moment I knew- my toe was broken. You are probably wondering, how did you manage to do that? Well, the answer is simple, I was moving too fast. I didn’t take enough time to make sure my foot touched every step of that stairwell, and I slipped down.
Now, I’m in bed recovering, I have to use crutches, elevate my foot, apply ice… you get the idea. After realizing that I would be out of school for 2 weeks, or more depending on what the OrthoCarolina specialists have to say, I beat myself up. I said to myself, if you would have worn different shoes this never would have happened! I even thought, if you would have gone a different way, you never would have fallen! The secret ingredient in both of my little thought bubbles was “if.”
This brings me to the first lesson I have learned from my broken toe.
1. We plague ourselves with this one tiny, minuscule word, “if,” that holds so much meaning! The truth is, when something happens, it happens. There’s no wondering what alternate scenario could have avoided it. All wondering accomplishes is making you feel guilty or simply refusing to view the circumstance as it is.
Secondly, my fall resembles something I’m quite familiar with.
2. Sometimes we get too far ahead of ourselves in life resulting in a fall, and sometimes, a break. Healing is a part of life.
You thought that relationship was going perfectly- that you finally found your person. But then, they break up with you. You got too far ahead of yourself.
You thought you would get that position on campus, but someone else was a bit more qualified. You got too far ahead of yourself.
Don’t beat yourself up for the anticipation of a “win.” We all believe things will go our way, and sometimes they do, but when they don’t, we have to recover from the fall and learn to walk again.
In the words of Bear Bryant, “Expect the unexpected.”
Wingate Triangle 