Just Keep Pedaling

In life there are a lot of ups and downs. We laugh, we cry, we succeed and we fail. Everyone goes through trials and sufferings, but what sets us apart from everyone else is our perspective.

Life is like a bike ride. Everything is great when the weather is just right and the wind is just perfect, but once the dark clouds come and the rain hits you like piercing daggers, the ride isn't smooth anymore. That's life and that's perfectly normal. No one is going to have a perfect day everyday. It just doesn't happen.

Chicago has a ton of potholes and bumpy roads which makes riding a bike rather tricky. You want to make sure you don't go too fast that your front wheel can hit a rock and there you go jetting face first to the ground. You also want to make sure you don't go too slow because getting over those bumps can be difficult at a slow speed. Sometimes we decide to stop riding because it becomes too hard to pedal on the streets of life. When things in life don't go the way we plan we usually want to quit. We rather get off the bike than pedal through the storms, through the difficult roads, up the hills and in strange places.

When I was little, my siblings and I used to always love riding our bikes. We rode our bikes in parking lots and around the block. There were many times when my parents would ride with us and we would go to the nearby park because there were hills there and we loved the feeling of riding down the hills without having to pedal. Riding up the hill was not my favorite part at all. Sometimes I would get off my bike and walk to the top because it was easier that way, but every time I did that, I felt like I was cheating. So I would go back and try again. I would pedal hard and close my eyes tight as I used all of my strength to make it to the top. When I would get to the top I would feel accomplished. I would hold onto the handlebars, kick off the ground and place my feet on the pedals. It felt liberating and free to ride down without having to pedal. The wind on my face and the rush of adrenaline always convinced me that riding up was totally worth it.

Sometimes in life we have to wipe the sweat off our brow and ride up the hill. We have to deal with our situations and struggles and always keep in mind that we have to keep pedaling until we reach the top. Yes we will feel like quitting and giving up because life will get too hard and too complicated, but we have to continue moving forward. Life can wear you down but you just have to keep pedaling!