The one thing I'll miss about being a receptionist...

Tomorrow is the first day at my new job. The first day toward my amazing career path. And while I am so glad to know that I will not be spending 40 hours a week waiting for a phone to ring*, I still think I will miss getting to meet the most random, and sometimes most amazing people.

[*Disclaimer: I, in no way, mean any disrespect to people who work the front desk. I honor these people because of what they have to put up with.]

Aimee Fortney, for example, is one of the greatest individuals that I have come across during my time with Lightning 100. She came in to pick up concert tickets, and we instantly bonded over our rather intense obsession with our new Mac laptops.

She told me about the website she built with her Mac, and I told her about my graphic design projects. We traded email addresses and went about our business.

Aimee is one of those people that I mentioned in some previous posts. She is one of the many wonderful people that have contacted me to make sure that I am okay, and to let me know that they are praying for me.

While I'd love to just post our email conversation here and be done, there are several very personal things that, quite frankly, need to stay in my Gmail account.

But, because I use this blog not only as an emotional output, but also as a tool for others experiencing life and all of its antics, I am going to share what I've learned from what used to be a complete stranger.

I didn't have to tell her what was wrong. She read my blog and knew. She sent me a comforting message telling me not to get discouraged. And then she said the magic words that I've been repeating to myself since I first heard them spoken: That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

She's right. It's obvious. She said that it's through these difficult times that we find our inner strength and our true selves.

Like I said, she's right. It's obvious. But I've watched so many people get hurt, shake it off and move on. Sure, it's brave... cavalier even... but it doesn't provide the healing and personal growth that a person needs.

It's obvious. The answer. When someone is experiencing pain on any level- physical, emotional, financial, etc.- the auto answer is to tell that person that what doesn't kill them makes them stronger. But what a lot of people leave out, and what Aimee [among several others] reminded me of, is what happens in between the thing that nearly kills you and the strength that comes from it.

You have to hurt. You have to heal. You have to grow.

You will not find answers in distractions- being with large groups of people all the time, taking on extra projects, eating emotionally or drinking to forget. You can't drown yourself in those things to distract yourself from the hurt.

You have to hurt. You have to heal. And you have to grow.

But while you're doing all of these things, you have to remember that on the other side of the pain is strength. Know that it's going to hurt, and know that it's going to get better.

So, as Aimee suggested, I'm not letting the "bastards" get me down. [Did I mention that she's a self-described beer-drinking-Baptist who also swears? I love it because it fits in well with me, a beer-drinking/wine-sipping-Church-of-Christ-girl who appreciates inappropriate language.]

It's officially been 48 hours since my last hysterical breakdown, and I'm proud. I'm proud to say that I cried so hard that I couldn't breathe that night. I'm proud to say that I have to have a minimum of two packs of tissues in my purse at all times because, at any moment, I may fall apart. I'm proud to say that I am more broken now than I ever have been in my entire life.

But I'm also proud to say that I've got support. I'm proud to say that I know that once this storm has passed, I will have grown. I will have danced. And I will have gained strength.