What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I have often wondered why advice rarely stays with me. People offer words of guidance when I am in deep trouble, and in those moments I cling to them, using them as lifelines. Yet once the storm passes, the words fade. If asked later what was said, I can barely recall. Perhaps advice is not meant to be stored like a quote in memory, but to be lived in the moment it is needed.
Still, a few pieces of advice have managed to carve themselves into my thoughts. One of them is simple but profound: you are the only person who will truly fight for yourself. No one else can fully understand where I come from. Not because people are shallow, but because it is impossible. Even a mother, who is said to understand everything, struggles at times. Circumstances change, generations shift, and the battles I face are not the same as hers. This advice reminds me that self-advocacy is not selfishness — it is survival.
Another piece of advice I hold close is to keep trying. The point is not to win every time, but to keep the possibility of winning alive. Effort itself is a form of hope. Even if success comes later than I want, it is better to keep the horizon open than to declare defeat too soon. Trying is not about immediate triumph; it is about refusing to close the door on possibility.
