The hardest lesson I've ever faced as an adult is the never-ending need to survive, regardless of how broken I feel inside.

It doesn't matter if my heart aches, if I'm mourning the loss of a loved one, or if I'm too tired to get out of bed.

Life doesn't wait for me to breathe.

He continued to move forward, indifferent to my pain, and I had no choice but to push through, even as every part of me screamed for a moment's rest.

But what's harder is realizing that nothing really prepared you for this. We grow up believing in the comfort of happy endings, only to be met with the harsh reality that surviving often means pretending you're okay when you're not.

And perhaps that was the hardest part—not just surviving, but doing so quietly, without letting the weight show. Yet, through it all, we discover a strength we never knew we had, because even though it's hard, we keep moving.