‘Never give up’ is a common phrase that is thrown around in hopes to encourage its listeners to continuously push through, no matter the hardship. When I was little, he would read me stories for bed and my favorite was the Care bears, and particularly a story about a bear that never gave up. From there, this phrase was something my dad continuously instills in me, even to this day.
I feel very blessed, my relationship with my dad is strong. I tell him everything and he always gives me the guidance I need to hear. I’ve always looked up to him, trusted him, and wanted to be like him in many ways. However, I was never too sure of this ‘Never give up’ phrase from the Care bears that he would always repeat. I’ve had struggles just like everyone else in this world has, and definitely plenty where I was absolutely ready to throw in the towel. He never let me walk away from hardship, though, he always encouraged me, supported me, and guided me through anything. And so, I stuck most everything out.
For example, this whole college thing. My sisters, who are all 10-15 years older than me, all went to college. I got to watch them go through it and was excited to share their experience, but their degrees were a lot different than mine. When it was my turn to go to college, I chose something drastically different from anything anyone in my family has ever done. The minute it got difficult; I was certain I made a mistake. Freshman year was challenging, it felt impossible to get through the gateway classes of my degree of choice and I was ready to just give up, walk away and chose a completely a more comfortable major. But, as you can guess where this story is going, my dad convinced me stick it out.
He was right, as he always is. He knew how passionate I was about this field, and he knew I’d regret my life if I ever settled for anything less. He knew my dreams and aspirations and understood this degree would get me there. So, I never gave up on this degree or anything else I’ve put my mind to recently and I am ever grateful for it. I’m a senior now, graduating in a few short weeks. I’ll finish this degree with a 3.5 GPA, a bunch of amazing experiences in my field and many brilliant people that I’ve spent these last few years with, studying in the library on weekdays and partying together on the weekends. Not to mention, the job I have been dreaming of for 6 years is lined up for me at the start of the new year.
Moral of the story, never give up. But more importantly, never give up on you. Find your passion and give it your all. Even if your passion challenges you, have faith and confidence in yourself to get it done. Make some attainable goals and get at them. Life is too short to spend it doing anything but bringing you joy and happiness. And once you pass those challenges and attain your goal, despite the odds, it will feel amazing. This feeling of accomplishment alone is worth everything.
Unruly Bodies 
I am so happy to hear that you’ve gotten to where you are now and persevered through all that struggle to get there! That takes a lot of strength and courage! I myself have mixed feelings about the “never give up” mentality, but I have learned a new way of looking at it. Sometimes it is the right decision to quit, and by backing out of a harmful situation you are choosing to not give up on yourself. I saw a quote once that was along the lines of “quitting on something doesn’t mean you’re giving up on everything.” Sometimes you need to pivot into a new direction because that will lead you towards what you want for yourself and your life. So never give up on yourself, but also it is ok to give up on something if in doing that something you have realize it isn’t what you want for yourself. Life has challenges and sometimes they are something you need to push through to get what you want and I am so happy you have been able to get here!