How You Rise Defines You

I remember staring at my inbox, refreshing it for the hundredth time this morning. My heart did this weird flutter every time a new email popped up, maybe this was it!

And then, there it was. The subject line read: Thank you for your interest... Before I even opened it, I knew. It felt like everything inside me dropped at once. Still, I clicked. Hope doesn’t give up that easily.

"After careful consideration, we’ve decided to move forward with other candidates. We truly appreciate the time and effort you put into the process..."

I couldn’t take in another word: it was enough.

I just sat there, I was so upset. All that effort, the interview prep, the excitement picturing myself there: gone. Just like that.

And, of course, my mind went to war with itself. Maybe I said the wrong thing. Maybe I wasn’t good enough. Maybe they could just tell I wasn’t cut out for it...

The self-doubt hit hard.

The thing is, it wasn’t just about the job itself. It was what it represented: a chance to show myself that I could finally turn things around, that all the hard work and sacrifices had meaning. But instead, it felt like that door I’d been hoping for slammed shut right in my face, leaving me standing there, feeling lost.

I took a moment to feel it all: the disappointment, the anger, the sadness. I needed to let myself sit with it, to not run from how I was feeling. I owed myself that much.

In the middle of all the mess, when everything felt heavy and overwhelming, a small voice inside me whispered, soft but familiar: This isn’t the end. It’s just a setback, not the final stop. You’ve been through tough times before, and you’ve made it out. It’s just a moment, and it will pass….

And that’s when it really hit me... this was my moment to practice true resilience. Not the kind that’s easy, the kind that looks good from the outside, but the real, messy kind. The kind where you get knocked down, and everything inside you wants to stay down: but you choose to rise anyway. You push through the pain, the doubt, and the fear.

So, I closed the email. Took a deep breath. And reminded myself: rejection doesn’t define me. How I respond to it does.

Tomorrow, I try again.