To Those Who Told Me 'No:' Thank you...

As a young kid, rejection was what I always feared the most. My life motto was: “Never try; never fail,” and to be honest I lived by it like it was my job. I never tried anything new, because I didn’t want to fail, to fall short of expectation, to be told “no.” I think the first time I really took rejection the hardest was my freshman year of high school. My goal was to play high school basketball, so I tried out for my high school’s freshman basketball team with a pretty good chance of making it.

The last day of try-outs was in the morning and letters were handed out right before we had to get ready to head to class. When asked if I was going to open my letter, I told my friend that I was going to wait — I wanted my parents to be there for any outcome. But before I could explain my friend ripped the letter out of hand. After a quick glance down, her facial expression said it all. As she handed the letter back to me, her only remarks were, “I’m sorry.” I quickly grabbed the letter and chuckled, “You’re joking, right?” But before she could answer, I was already on the verge of tears. I… was being rejected.

So to those who rejected me then and to those who have rejected me since: thank you.

Thank you for helping me realize that my time was far more well spent somewhere else.

Thank you for allowing me to better understand that the world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Thank you for helping me make that decision.

Thank you for helping realize that rejection is better than I ever thought it could be.

Thank you for allowing me to follow my correct path.

Thank you for helping me prove a point.

Thank you for teaching me to believe in myself, even when you don’t.

Thank you for pushing me to achieve bigger and better dreams.

Just… thank you.