Nobody like to go through a hard time. When we are in the midst of it, we either wish for the situation to become easier or to somehow bypass it altogether. But in reality, enduring a hardship, working through it and coming out on the other end is a necessary component in life. Life really is the best teacher.

There are no guarantees on how things will shape up. We might make some irreversible mistakes along the way. But the process of muddling through a seemingly insurmountable problem will build our character like nothing else can. It will take us on a journey of self discovery, build up our grit, make us more resilient and maybe even leave us with more empathy for ourselves and others. Whatever those lessons are, they will be unique to our own individual experience and they come from the journey itself, not the results at the end.

We learn far, far, far more from our failures than we ever learn from our successes. And that is why, no matter how hard it seems, sometimes the best thing we can do to help the people we love is to let them fall and rise again. Offer silent support but allow them to fight their own battles even if they start off wrong.

Trials and tribulations are a necessary rite of passage to adulthood and there are no shortcuts.