Walking around art museums has always been a passion of mine, I mostly enjoy the adventures of self-discovery and finding artworks that move me. This oil piece by Johan Christian Dahl was a painting that I would frequently stop by and remember the most. However, I never knew why, the Frederiksborg Castle drew me in so much. The story of the castle remains of something common to European history, a place of entertainment, royalty, eventually succumb to some catastrophic fire but standing completely intact. Now being a South Indian woman raised in Texas, how could this piece move me.

However, it was rather a reminder of something more simple that I held on to in my subconscious, resilience.

These past few years I’ve faced setbacks which have affected a lot of my person. From maneuvering social situations, moving to a different country, and facing an injury which finally resulted in a major surgery after the span of four years. Now all of these events are small in comparison to ones which are faced globally; however, resilience is a factor which we all must understand.

Slowing down after graduating college was the last thing on my agenda. Further, being forced to slow down was a hit to my busy personality. From being consistently in motion, I was stuck to a bed and put into a physical therapy schedule. No one tells you how tough a double meniscus repair and full ACL reconstructive surgery is. No one prepares you for the first time you try to bend your leg and what was once a smooth brainless maneuver now forces you to use every ounce of effort to retrain these muscles how to function again. From working on my outside body through physical therapy, I also started refining the skills in my internal monologue through exploring my own spirituality. Now resilience is important here, because as I worked on refining myself, I was met with a new challenge every day. Issues at work, navigating this new job market, maintaining my social life, and my own mental health. But I realized that slowing down might be the best thing for me. Now I can create the structure for myself which I so crave, now I can re-evaluate my life, find purpose in the activities I do, re-center my values and prioritize where I share my energy. The journey is difficult, and setbacks are inevitable but the balance which we try to achieve will formulate in our actions whether we force it or not.

This castle, gloomy in appearance, shining slowly as the sun rises is resilience. Withstanding fire, absorbing arguments, feeling love, this painting that you might just walk by now has a new meaning to it. It has the meaning which you identify with it. Whether it be resilience, anger, silence, or just the fact that it’s a castle on a hill, you attach that mental tag on it. Which is a bigger analogy for what you want to mentally tag your life as. The mindset that you set for yourself is nothing but a journey you build, a timeline you follow. So, see the opportunity in a minor set-back.

The post-grad life has been a period of recovery and self-discovery for me. For others its more fast-paced, getting thrown into jobs, more school, new programs. That was the life I expected for myself, but being forced to slow down has made me think about how to achieve those goals at the pace that I set for myself. Success looms over most at this age as a rat-race, getting the highest paying job, finding a partner, getting to the end goal. But why, slow down and set your pace. Embrace the opportunity for self-discovery for you might find that there are paintings which you haven’t seen, which you might walk by and details that you might miss that might change your life. Be like the castle and withstand the fire.