Echoes of the Garage

Daily writing prompt

How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?

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A big life event for me was 2016. I had a girlfriend I’d been with for three years and she left me for someone else. At the time, it wrecked me. I couldn’t understand it. I fell into depression and I made myself feel less than.

Now, with time, I can say it was a weird kind of blessing. We weren’t compatible in certain ways, and I think long-term we would’ve held each other back because we viewed the world differently.

Time has taught me two things:

First—when you don’t do what you actually want to do with your life, depression grows. When you make the wrong thing the “important thing,” and ignore what really matters to you, it catches up. Slowly. Quietly. Then one day it’s heavy.

Second—I appreciate effort more. I don’t respect “not trying.” Effort, stacked over time, builds a better life. In the short term it can feel pointless (I still feel that sometimes), but when I look back, I can see I’m actually doing things. It just takes a long time.

And I’ve learned I’m impatient about that. I want the results now. But the truth is: time will move either way. The only question is whether I move with it.

Question: What’s a life event that changed your perspective—and what did it teach you about time?

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