Have you ever felt like giving up?

Have you felt like life has gotten too difficult, or like it’s been too hard to breathe? Have you lost sight of all the people that love you?

Life can get tough – it can get ugly, painful and it can seem impossible. Keeping the faith can be hard.

So, let us help you.

Let us help you with a list of things worth living for.

Let us give you 20 reasons to keep going.

  1. The smell of rain after a thunderstorm and how everything is just peaceful and quiet.
  2. Books – authors like J.K Rowling, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Stephen King.
  3. The first snowfall of the season and how beautiful the snow is when it glistens.
  4. Deep belly laughs with your friends (The kind of laugh when you Just. Can’t. Stop.).
  5. Ice cream on a hot summer day. The little relief from the sweltering heat.
  6. A cozy winter evening with a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa where you’re in the safety and comfort of your own home. You can put on any movie you want, and nothing else matters.
  7. The sound of your favourite song at a concert, or hearing your favourite song on the radio after a long day.
  8. Fresh starts and clean slates and how it’s never too late to start again. The freedom to move wherever you want, love whoever you want, and be whoever you want.
  9. Christmas morning (or the holidays in general). Where you’re reminded of the people you love and everything is filled with warmth.
  10. Your favourite food – the first bite into a piece of pizza.
  11. Places on the map you haven’t been and all the places you’re dying to go to. All of the places in the world that’ll be happy to welcome you with open arms if only you keep going long enough to get there.
  12. Laying underneath the stars.
  13. Puppy kisses, or kitty kisses. They are so sweet, innocent and loving.
  14. Waking up to the birds chirping on a Spring morning as if the birds are reminding you that you are alive!
  15. Sleeping in and waking up feeling well-rested and ready to take on the day.
  16. Late nights making memories that matter.
  17. Meeting a new friend and feeling the “click” with them.
  18. A hot bath or shower when it’s chilly out.
  19. The smell of freshly cut grass in the summertime.
  20. YOU ARE BREATHING – and that is the greatest gift you can get.

Sometimes life is going to get heavy and messy. Life might break your heart – but the broken heart is just a tribute to you being alive. So, keep going just so you can smell fresh-cut grass again, and so you can open a book for the first time.

And if it still looks too dark, please don’t be afraid to speak up and use resources that can help.

Written by Celina Dawdy