The amount of complexities we will never understand and questions we will never have the full answer to in this world is infinite.

Is there a heaven and a hell? Too bad the dead cannot speak. Can the stars really determine how we are going to feel or where our life is headed? In my opinion, I think that is completely ridiculous. Do ghosts really exist? I argue in support of the spirits, given the few instances I feel that I have experienced paranormal activity.

However, this is only what I choose to believe. And while what I believe may not be the same as what other people choose to believe, I respect the faiths they are building for themselves.

For a while, I struggled with believing “everything happens for a reason.” I used to think of that as the unofficial congratulations when something bad happens to you and no one knows what to say. I used to think it was just an excuse that promised no clear answer to be found.

While I still struggle to believe this, especially with all of the recent injustices plaguing the world and our society, I have come to the realization that there is something rare and unique for each individual that comes with these kinds of statements as well as the answers to the questions I have written above.

These beliefs are what keep people anchored. These beliefs are what give people the ability to cope. Although I may think “everything happens for a reason” is a poor rationalization and that my horoscope is the same forecast that has been regurgitated countless times, someone else may look at these things as the glue that holds them together when it feels like everything is falling apart.

I find it truly beautiful that people use these beliefs they have fostered to turn their vulnerabilities into strengths or to explain the plans life has mapped out for them.

Before I let my eyes roll out of my head the next time someone tells me that the reason my Monday is exceptionally awful is because Mercury is in retrograde, I will make sure to consider the importance these beliefs have to someone.

We may not be able to control what the world has in store for us, but we do have the liberty to choose how we battle it. Every person is a warrior with a different combat strategy. Always respect that, and don’t be afraid to learn from that.

Carole Hodorowicz is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or cdhodorowicz@eiu.edu.