Life is full of problems

What’s good, it’s me again.

I’m writing this email in the comfort of my AC-ed room. But outside, it’s raining. It’s been raining every day during this season.

Where there’s rain, there’s an army of mosquitoes. With the abundance of mosquitoes, one must master the art of the clap, swiftly squishing them between their hands.

Wanna hear something crazy?

Once, I squished a plump mosquito that had just engorged itself with my blood, revealing its crimson aftermath in my palms.

Speaking of blood, I got myself a horror book.

I never like reading books, especially fiction, but The Shining ended up on my doorstep, like a mysterious surprise delivery.

So The Shining is about a family of 3 the Jack, Wendy and their 5-yo son Danny. They recently moved to Boulder, Colorado. Jack is a great dad, but he has one bad habit. And this bad habit has caused him to do a lot of bad things.

One of which was when he dislocated Danny’s shoulder, all because he was just being a kid. Wendy almost filed a divorce over that. And you know why he did such thing. It’s because he wasn’t in control of himself.

In life, we have all kinds of problems. Money problem, family problem, problem at work, problem with a stranger, etc. When we face so many of these problems at the same time, we get overwhelmed, and we want to jump in an escape pod.

Similar to Jack, he was going through a tough period of his life, dealing with numerous personal challenges. Whenever he needs an escape and some solitude, he turns to alcohol. And you know what happens when there’s too much alcohol in your system. You lose control of yourself, you’re no longer a pilot of your body.

I deeply connected with this part of the book because it reflects a time in my life when everything felt dark and hopeless. Despite my efforts, I seemed to be stuck and couldn’t make progress no matter how hard I tried.

Back then, I found myself drinking excessively, using alcohol as a means to escape from my problems, responsibilities, and everything that weighed me down.

Life is full of problems, and that’s okay. Just like a video games, your job is to find solutions to those problems and make it to the next level.

Without problems, life would lack the need for solutions, and thus, lose its purpose.

So next time you’re facing a difficult problem, it’s okay that you don’t have the answer right away.

Take a step back, take your time with it. It’s important to find healthier coping mechanisms rather than relying on destructive vices to navigate life’s challenges.

You know what, I just realized this.

Back when I was dealing with my personal problems. I isolated myself from family, and healthy friends (non-alcoholic friends). I did not ask for any help, I did not share to others what I was going through, and that was stupid of me.

Life is a multiplayer game, you CANNOT win by being a solo player. When you’re stuck at whatever level, find another player to help you, maybe they’ve played that level 100 times and can show you how to beat it in 5 minutes.

That’s one thing that I’ve been working hard to improve. It’s to become a team player, how can I win this game of life with other people.

Anyway, that’s it for this week. I gotta go finish the book.

TLDR:

• Life is a game of problem and solution.

• It’s okay that you don’t have the answer to things.

• Don’t drink alcohol, don’t do drugs.

• You can’t win the game alone.

Thank you for reading.

Justin “no longer drinks alcohol” Nguyen