Life’s not fair.
What an annoying thing to be told.
Perhaps it’s under specific circumstances that make that three-worded phrase so irritating. A husband tells his spouse that after a denied promotion. A mom announces this to her son when his twin brother gets the cooler action-figure. Parents insist on this to their teenager when she complains about not being able to buy a new car. We all hate it when authority preaches this onto us, in their condescending, blunt manner.
More than anything, however, this phrase is so infuriating because of the simple realization that it is fact. At one point or another, everyone has become mature enough to understand this straightforward truth: No matter how hard they work, how kind they act, and how successful they grow to be, they might, ultimately, never get what they deserve.
Sadly, this is life.
As a young girl, I was very naïve. Not more naïve than other people in their child hoods, but still….idealistic. I thought that if I stayed away from candy and cigarettes, I would never get cancer. I believed that if I constantly kept my grades up, I’d definitely become successful; if I was social in school, I’d instantly make friends. I believed that with being outgoing and kind, I would one day get married. My future, in my eight-year-old-eyes, would be perfect. It’ s flawlessness would be accredited to my hard work and persistence to make it as it is. I pictured myself being a great wife, happy mother, and a successful writer living in the ultimate dream home.
When I turned twelve, I had a sudden epiphany. I instantly realized that my future may never come to be as great as I would have hoped. I suddenly acknowledged that my life was, ultimately, not in my hands. I could live day to day… dream, work, and be kind… but, in the long run, I had no control over what future would bring.
This sudden comprehension put me into a mini depression.

You can be healthiest person on Earth, and still get cancer. You can be the most courteous driver on the highway, and still get hit by a drunk. You can be the world’s greatest pacifist, but abruptly be blown up in a suicide attack. How disheartening.
I began to feel as though no matter what I did, something bad would be around the corner. My life seemed too lucky to last. My way of living is incredibly fortunate, complete with an amazing family, good friends, and successful grades. My family is in good health, and I have never dealt with a tragedy. I began to worry about the “bad thing” that might come. While it might not be justifiable that something bad happen to those I love, I knew it could happen in a heartbeat. Which brings me back to the sentence I hate more than anything else in this world: Life’s not fair.

I mentioned my doubts to my parents. They gave me an even more frustrating answer: “Your life is in God’s hands.” I hated the lack of control that sentence evoked. I was so angry I wanted to scream, “It is NOT FAIR that life is NOT FAIR!”And when I became even more upset, my parents spoke to me. Their words of wisdom came bitter-sweetly. But once I apprehended them, I realized that that was the only mindset I could keep in order to save my sanity.
What will be… will be. Not everyone has a happy ending. Sometimes, tragic things happen to good people. But this is not always the case. Most of the time, hard work will be rewarded. The kindness a person acts upon will be returned. If someone cares about their health, they will have a lesser chance of getting sick. If you have a career in mind, and work persistently towards it, chances are you will eventually achieve your dream job. A person who makes the most out of their life—no matter how abruptly in may end—will always have a better chance of accomplishment. An under-achiever who believes-like I did for a time- that hard work will hardly be rewarded, will always live in constant despair.

A person will hardly ever regret making the most of their life, no matter how abruptly it may end or how awful it may come to be. Being a kind, diligent, ambitious being will always come with a benefit. My Aunt always says that you, specifically, might not benefit from your good deeds. But, eventually, someone will. Giving charity, acting respectfully, and working fairly will benefit the World just as much as it will yourself. Therefore, on the upsetting but very possible circumstance that a tragedy occurs, goodness would have come out of actions regardless.
Now, I am going to go and swim in a nearby pool. I might bang my head against the wall while doing backstroke, permanently damaging my brain. I might trip and fall during the walk, and break a leg. My dad might suddenly lose his job, after going to Israel non-stop throughout the year on intense business trips. While I am with a friend next Saturday, my house might catch on fire.
OR.
I will successfully complete an hour worth of swimming laps. Next year, I will be incredibly successful in high school. Who knows? I may be the best runner on the Cross Country team. I could quite possibly meet an abundance of new friends, and my father might get a promotion. Somehow, my whole family will live to be happy, healthy, and safe.
My future is totally out of control--- to an extent. I can conclude that I have a fifty percent power over it. Once I realized this, I vowed to do all I could with the remote power I was given over my being. The part of my life I can’t control is for me to stop stressing about. I even take a deep breath every once and I while and forget about the what-ifs.
How refreshing.