#thestruggleisreal

I don't know what it is, but lately I have been seeing way too many "GoFundMe" sites or blogs about hard things and terrible tragedies. Young moms with cancer, premature babies with extreme health issues, infertility, children with severe disabilities, children dying of cancer, parents dying and leaving behind young children, the list goes on and on. As strange as it sounds, I am fascinated by these stories. How people cope with their difficulties, and how so many people who don't even know them (myself included) follow their story and offer them support. To me, it's one of the benefits of social media: thousands or millions of people can come together over a single message, story, idea, or person in a very short amount of time.

The past couple of months, I have been thinking about different difficulties, that while usually unpublicized, are hard and very real challenges. While some people like to post every detail (both good and bad) on social media outlets, I feel like few people really enjoy broadcasting their deepest struggles for the world to see and criticize. It's much easier to post a picture of a great hike, delicious dessert, of good party, and let that be the image that people develop of you. While in the background, other things weigh heavy: Parents getting divorced or remarried, siblings ostercizing themselves from the family, difficulty finding a job, hating the job you have, struggling with depression or anxiety, not feeling accepted at church, battling self-image / eating disorders, the list goes on and is far too long.

Sometimes I look at my social media feed and think that I must be doing something wrong. Everyone else seems to be happy and have it all pulled together: why am I having a hard time? A couple months ago I talked to a couple friends over a few weeks and realized they were struggling too. "But they look so happy on instagram! They just went on a great trip, they have the cutest family, they are always so pulled together," I thought to myself as I once again realized that my social media perception of them blocked my ability to see their struggle.

I don't think the biggest problem with social media is that it creates an unrealistic image of a person's life, I think the larger issue is that it makes me less inclined to actually talk to my friends and really reach out to them. Because if it looks like things in their life are great, I assume they don't need really need me in real life. When in reality, just because they don't have a life threatening disease, does not mean they wouldn't appreciate some real encouragement that doesn't come in the form of a like or comment. There's an overused and cliche quote that sums it up perfectly:

"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

(Even if their house is decorated perfectly, they go on great vacations, and they always seem happy :)

Here's to being there "in real life" for more of the people I care about in 2015.