Sometimes it is hard to believe that life will not always be as hard or as hopeless as it feels at a given time, but the truth is that things will change or you can change them. There was a time that I considered a permanent solution to a time and place of complete despair. What changed things for me was suddenly realizing that it made no sense to consider a permanent solution instead of doing whatever I could to change my current reality. I made that change. It took time, and it was painful, but it was possible. I was and am no longer in a place of despair.