I hate change. Strong words, but change and I are not friends. Ask anyone that really knows me and they will warn you that change makes me grumpy. I think it started in my childhood as a Marine Corps B.R.A.T. (Born Raised and Trapped) because my world was nothing but change. You would think this might desensitize me to it and change would be something I handle with grace, but that’s not the case.

My husband loves to rearrange the furniture at our house and redecorate, which does not excite me. We bought a house a couple years ago and have since been making it ours. My struggle, though, is that painting kitchen cabinets, redoing floors, and creating a backyard escape is wonderful once complete but it’s torture throughout the process. I’ve settled into my white cabinets and I love sitting in my backyard with a cup up coffee but they didn’t come without tears, panic, and a tantrums on my part.

So why did I choose a quote about embracing change and rant about it being my biggest struggle? It’s true and it’s something I’m consistently working on. Change is difficult for a lot of us, and all handle it differently. We can panic together knowing we aren’t alone right before we stop fighting change. In fact, I would love to get to a point where I am the one choosing and creating the change that currently pins me down in terror. Someday I will get there. Until then, I’m taking steps to embrace the change I cannot avoid.

Sarah Deats

Sarah Deats is the Arizona Outpatient Support Services Manager at RI International and the Hope Inc. Stories Inspiration Engineer. Her goals are to make a connection with everyone that she can while building community, spreading hope, and sparking change. She believes that while life may not be easy, it is never lived alone.