Resilience

I arrived in the town of Maladaptive Behavior looking forward to settling down in my new life away from the city of Childhood Trauma. I quickly found a nice cozy place and made it home. I remember that small cottage on Defenses Boulevard that would be just the first of many places I’d live within this new town.

Life became busy so quickly that I had no time to unpack my sack of baggage (who knew how quickly I would adapt to this new place). I did however take hope and resilence and place them right on my new display case where they could be put to use. They were my reminder that the city I left behind had given me something and did not take everything from me. I know you might be wondering what life was like in the city of Childhood Trauma, but the experience was unique to every resident that lived there. The most important thing about my life there was what did I gain, how did I feel, and what I would carry with me as I went along my life’s journey.

Life in Maladaptive Behavior was much different than the life I had previously known. I got to decide where I lived, who I lived with, and I even got to create some of my own baggage. I met so many new people. I even became the envy of the town because I had hope and resilience! Many spoke about how they had lived in the city of Childhood Trauma but never came across such beautiful gems. I did my best to share them but this new town was full of cynics who had no interest in sharing these things with me.

Many of the people I had gotten to know moved to other neighborhoods. Some moved to Drugstown, some to Mental Disorder Drive, and some? Well some didn’t make it out alive. I moved from Defenses Boulevard to Avoidance Avenue but I didn’t stay on Avoidance Avenue too long. Just long enough to learn not to advertise my gems then I quickly moved to Fantasy Lane (I spent one night in self harm but realized immediately that I couldn’t, well wouldn’t live if I stayed there). Fantasy Lane was one of my favorite places in the town of Maladaptive Behavior (for now). Fantasy Lane had the most fantastic library I had ever seen! I immersed myself in books. I read and read and read. I fantasized about what life would be like. I even collected a few gems. I found dreams. It fit right on that shelf next to hope as though they were meant to go together (Hopes and Dreams get it?). I found determination (didn’t recognize the value of this one but it was interesting so I kept it). I even found a gem called independence (not as cool as the self sufficiency jewel I’d later find but nice).

I lived in this town until I felt it was safe to move on. I heard of a town called Looking for Love (it reminded me of the stories I read). I packed my sacks (too much baggage for one now since I had gone overboard designing my own), place my jewels gently in the sacks and headed to the City of Self Destruction. I carried with me co-dependency, self doubt, low self esteem, and emotional instability (this one here?! It’s a doozy trying to get the stench of this out your sack) as well as all the other baggage I’d left Childhood Trauma with. Needless to say the weight was beginning to wear me down.

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