The June day is so hot. My t-shirt clings to my back with the sweat of my driver’s seat. Somehow, my 1993 Honda Accord’s black interior can never cool off quickly enough for me. My breaths are so heavy, weighed down by the humidity filling my lungs. The thick air, promising a late afternoon summer thunderstorm, blankets me as I wait on the front porch.

The door swings open, and I am flooded with the cool air conditioner. Deep breaths of the refreshing air fill my lungs. I come inside, and find my place in the light, airy living room. The cool fabric of the plush sofa soothes my warm skin. Softly whirring above, the ceiling fans whispers the lazy tune of summertime. As I settle comfortably into the room, a cold, icy glass of tea is placed in my hand. A chill races over my radiating skin. The freezing glass fogs in my hot hand, cooling my palm instantly. My damp hair pressed to my forehead begins to blow lightly under the light breeze of the fan. Placing the glass to my lips, I sip. Refreshing and flavorful, the tea washes down my dry throat. I lick my lips. Sticky beads of herbal flavor dance on my tongue.

The quiet, barely audible whisper of the old book’s spine stretching touches my ears. The book is opened. The voice, matched to the soft whir of the ceiling fan, fills my mind. Cool breeze, icy glass, soft words. The words of a Southern author, as he describes the changes in life, the moments that make us who we are, bring me a heightened sense of the present. The cut glass of the tumbler in my hand suddenly seeps smoother. The taste of the iced tea on my tongue is sharper. The breeze is cooler. My heart is warmer.

The ladies in the room, people I care for and have grown to love, sit back, enjoying the moment much like me. Our bodies absorb the air of the ceiling fan. Our minds absorb the words of Thomas Wolfe. And I am keenly aware.

Keenly aware of my senses, as I feel, taste, and hear the summer day. Keenly aware of my culture, in a sitting room where I sip iced tea, and listen to the words of a great Southern author. Keenly aware of the present, a moment with friends I have grown up with, friends I will soon say goodbye to.

I am keenly aware of life.

Life made of heavy, summer air, and cool inside breezes. Life made of hot skin and cool glasses of tea. Life made of literature, words, thoughts, and stories. Life made of friends. Life made of moments. Moments like this, isolated and vivid, archetypes of a way of life. Cliche yet original, commonplace yet poignant, lives like this are lived out every day.

Yet, I treasure this day. I treasure this moment. Stopping to catch my breath, I consider the simplest details. I make notes in my head, so that one day, I might look back and remember the beauty in the every day.

For the June day is so hot.

As a writer, I’m constantly looking for new books. Sometimes I discover rare, unknown gems that I fall in love with all on my own. And sometimes I find beauties in the books currently circulating popular culture. I am not partial to how I find my books. I am not trying to be above pop culture, and I’m not trying to fit into pop culture.

With that being said, it would be pretty hard to ignore the book all of the media is buzzing about currently. Five words: The Fault in Our Stars. First it was Harry Potter, then Twilight, then The Hunger Games. Divergent had a run, and now all the teens seem to be flocking to the John Greene novel with a movie recently debuted by the same name. (I would like to put out the disclaimer, I read the book two years ago when it first came out.) The book rose to popularity, and inevitably was turned into a movie that was released this weekend.

Whenever a book comes into such popularity, it always brings with it controversy. The Fault in Our Stars (TFiOS) is no exception. As a young adult (*cough cough* teenager), I believe I have a unique perspective on the book. And as an older sister of a younger teen, I have been asked many times if I think the book is appropriate for younger readers. My friend and I also read several very negative reviews on the book, and I decided maybe I should give the book a quick review. I’d be honored for you to read my opinions on the book, but the disclaimer goes, I am not an expert.

*The below are simply my own personal beliefs and convictions on the book, and it is perfectly fine if you do not agree. I attempt to look at this book from an intellectual standpoint, while coupling it with my own beliefs. This is simply a statement of my own personal views on the novel, and they are meant in no way to infringe on your own views. We can discuss, and we can agree to disagree!*

**SPOILER ALERT: I will reveal the major plotlines of the book. If you have not yet read the book, and would prefer not to know the ending, this might be a good time to stop reading!**

Let me begin by saying, I adored this book. Strictly from a writer’s standpoint, I found the book beautifully written and incredibly thought provoking. The characters were power-packed. The storyline was enticing. Everything about this book made me feel like I knew the characters, felt for the characters, loved the characters, and grieved with the characters. It filled me with emotion, and that is one of my favorite things.

For those who may not know much about the book, the story centers around one Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen year old cancer patient. She meets Augustus Waters, a fellow cancer patient in a support group, and the two quickly fall in love. Hazel and Augustus bond over a book by a Peter Van Houten, An Imperial Affliction. The book is written from the perspective of a cancer patient, who dies at the end of the book. Because the main character dies, the author chose to end the book in mid sentence. Hazel is particularly infatuated with the book, because Van Houten doesn’t romanticize death, but instead he takes a very realistic approach.

Even still, Hazel is plagued by the questions that are left of unanswered at the end of the book. Augustus, motivated by his love for Hazel, decides to use his “wish” to go to Amsterdam and meet the reclusive author of An Imperial Affliction. Despite Hazel’s failing health, the couple journey with Hazel’s mother to visit Van Houten in Amsterdam. However, once they meet Van Houten, they find him to be a sloppy, cynical alcoholic who refuses to answer their questions. Instead he insults Hazel and Augustus, calling them a failed mutation in humanity.

By the end of the trip, Augustus reveals to Hazel that he recently went in for a PET scan, and finds out that his cancer (which was previously thought to be in remission) has taken over his entire body. He is dying. The pair return to their home, and the rest of Augustus’ days are lived out with Hazel. At the end of the book, he dies, and Van Houten appears at his funeral to give Hazel the eulogy that Augustus had formerly promised Hazel he would write for her. The book and movie end with Hazel understanding that Augustus loved her, and that their lives were not lived in vain.

The story sounds bleak. It is. It sounds melancholy. It is. The book isn’t exactly a feel good story. So let me begin by touching on that issue.

1.) This book is not an optimistic novel.

Hazel has a very bleak outlook on life. She says she doesn’t believe in an afterlife, and she doesn’t see the point of trying to live until Gus comes along. She even goes through a period of the book feeling like a “grenade.” She is terrified of causing more pain to her parents and Gus through letting them love her, because she knows she will soon die. So instead, she decides to push them away.

The double edged sword of sad books in my opinion, is this dichotomy between appreciating the sad without dwelling on the morose. I love sad stories. (Sorry not sorry.) For some reason, I love feeling deeply, whether that’s happy or sad. And this book was full of deep feelings. Choosing to dwell on the sadness in the book however, would be unwise. Our lives are not made be lived under the shadow of death and sadness. Jesus redeemed us from that! (Psalm 103:1-5).

Still, the book is not without redemptive values. Augustus loves Hazel with a selfless love. He finds her beautiful, but he makes it clear he loves her for her heart and mind. He is bold in his love, and caring towards all around him. Hazel and her parents form a deep relationship, full of healing and mutual growth. Both characters realize that what matters in life is what you choose to invest in another person. Whether you invest in them for a small amount of time or a large one, you have the opportunity to give someone else an infinity of yourself within your set amount of days.

The book celebrates loyalty, love, and friendship. It doesn’t glamorize or sheen over the difficult parts of life. Instead, it begs us to examine the difficulties, and to live and love in spite of them.

If a mature reader can see the book for what it is, a depiction of the good and the bad in life, and choose not become infatuated with the sadness, I believe that many beautiful lessons can come from the book.

2.) A Higher Teen Standard

I read a review that criticised the “intelligence” of the teens in this book. If the criticism you can find in a book is that the teenage characters are critical thinkers, then I think it’s the least of your worries. All teenagers have the ability to think deeply about the world around them. As my dear friend, Holly Harris so accurately put, “Every teen has the capacity to choose to be who they are and offer themselves to the world, not in spite of their young age, but because of it.”

I related to the character of Hazel, because she spoke with such maturity and depth. (Fitting for someone who has gone through as much as she has.) It was refreshing to read a book that portrayed teenagers as true thinkers, and this is a standard all teens should appeal to.

3.) The Book is not without Faults (no pun intended)

Alright, I’ll just be blatantly honest. The book has some major ethical flaws. A smattering of profanity left a less than pleasant taste in my mouth. (Profanity is never necessary in my opinion.) And yes, Hazel and Gus do sleep together in the book. Perhaps what makes this action even more upsetting is that, as the audience members, we are reminded these characters are dying! Don’t they deserve to bend the rules a little bit? They’re in love after all! Nope, sorry. That’s not how it works. Wrong is wrong, no matter your circumstances. The danger in this scene (although very brief and vague) is that we begin to justify the actions of the characters based on their circumstances.

I have found most people find the major flaws in the book within the parameters of what I have just mentioned. And it’s never good to fill our minds with things we know are wrong. Although I do not condone these things, I think the most important thing to remember when reading this book, is…

4.) The Worldview

Whenever I read a book, I try very hard to examine the worldview of the book. (Worldview: a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world). The worldview of this book is very bleak. When I first read the book in fact, I was not much of a fan because of this fact.

Throughout the novel, there is a theme. The theme is that Hazel believes the world and all its inhabitants will soon return to nothing, tossed into oblivion. Gus, on the other hand, says he fears oblivion. He longs to make an impact on the world, to be remembered. The characters have many deep, thought provoking discussions throughout the book, grappling with their own mortality. At the end of the book, Gus states in his eulogy for Hazel that we all get hurt in this world, and we don’t have a choice in the matter. We only get to choose who hurts us. He says that he likes his choices, and he hopes Hazel does too. She replies with simply, “I do, Augustus. I do.”

This book ends without much more hope than with which it began. The hope we do see, is in the love that Hazel and Gus shared, along with the love that she strengthens with her parents throughout the novel. These positive elements however still leave us feeling slightly empty. After all… What happens to Gus after he dies? Are our lives truly a shout in the void? Did the love Gus and Hazel shared mean anything at all?

I felt that although the book seemed set up to answer these questions, it left them as unanswered as Hazel’s questions to the ending of An Imperial Affliction. And as a Christian, I believe that an unsure ending is only appropriate for a book that was not written from a Christian worldview.

One of my favorite books (plays) of all time is The Glass Menagerie. It’s a classic, and it’s completely UN-Christian. Yet when I read it, I can’t help notice how the characters are filled with longing. And I realize, the author, without meaning to, wrote into his book a longing deeply ingrained in the human soul.

TFiOS is no different. Hazel and Gus long for more, because so often humans do feel like a shout in the void. Yet, I know a God who makes that shout worthwhile. We are created with an emptiness inside of us, designed to be filled by Christ.

There are other beautiful elements of the story, such as Hazel telling Gus that he impacted her and that is enough. Jesus calls us to love. And He created us to love and be loved by another human so closely one day. That was one of my favorite parts of the story. That Gus didn’t explode the world, instead he touched the lives of those around him. And isn’t that what we are all called to do?

I say all of this about the worldview to say this – most people know the things in this novel that are wrong when they read them. Disrespect to authority and God. Profanity. Sex outside of marriage. These elements, although troubling, are blatant. The main reason I would recommend reading this book with caution would be because of the worldview.

Personally, I was able to read the book, spot the elements of falsity, and still enjoy the beautiful writing and story. In fact, the parts of the book I disagreed with sparked the most poignant discussions for me. When you are able to find and dissect a worldview in a book, you are automatically in charge of how the book affects you. Without a clear and critical thought approach to this book, this book could easily skew your thinking. (Hint: That’s true of all literature!)

(Sidebar to parents: If your son or daughter is asking to read this book, I recommend you read it first and decide what’s best for them. You know best what your child can handle, and what you want them to put in their minds. If they do read the book, I encourage you to use it as tool to have a discussion with them on their beliefs on life and death. This can actually spark amazing discovery and conversation!)

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars. This book made me feel more than almost any other book ever has. I enjoyed looking at the book as a piece of art, full of beautifully written passages and thought provoking lines. I enjoyed examining the book from a Christian perspective, finding the elements that were wrong or skewed, and understanding why they were written that way. I believe that any book can be used as a tool for understanding the world and humanity a little better, and we’d be remiss to ignore the amazing opportunity books open up to us in that way.

To sum it up, one of the most poignant lines in the book to me, is a line from the play Julius Ceasar that Peter Van Houten quotes to Augustus and Hazel. The line says, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” Van Houten says Shakespeare was “wrong,” as sometimes fate causes things to happen that are faults.

Interestingly enough, I disagree with TFiOS, and I agree with the original quote. The fault is in us. We do not cause bad things to happen to us, and we do not choose for bad things to happen, but the major fault in the world is the sin each of us carry within our hearts. The faults that happen to us are not left up to fate, chance, or even the stars.

No, I am thankful that the One controlling the universe and all that’s in it, is more sovereign than any constellation. I’m thankful there is a world after death. And I’m thankful for a Savior who chooses to redeem us and our faults.

I am thankful that our lives are not based on faults in our stars, but instead the grace of a loving God.

Leave me a comment, and tell me your opinions on this book! I hope this review was somewhat helpful or thought provoking to you! Thanks for taking the time to read.

Over the past few weeks, I have suddenly been assailed by this idea of change. It seems natural, after all, in fifteen days, I will dawn a cap and gown and walk down an aisle. I will cross a stage, receive a diploma, and turn my tassel. I will graduate high school, and I will begin the last summer of my childhood. I will begin a path to a brand new stage of life.

And I am terrified. And I am excited.

This has brought a lot of conversations up with some of my best friends. They have been fantastic listeners, and they have taught me a lot. A few quotes brought to you by them:

“The secret of contentment lies not in the past, or in the future, but in our current posture of surrender.” – Landis Brown

“Perhaps I will not fully be who I need to be until I give up those consistencies and realize there is only One who is truly unchanging.” – Holly Harris

These conversations have showed me the dichotomy I have fallen deeply into. I am brokenhearted to see my past life ending. I am thrilled to see where the next steps lead. How can these two things be at the same time? The oxymoron called “growing up” constantly astounds me.

And through this all, I began to search myself.

You know, my mom lived in the same bedroom she was brought home from the hospital to, until the day she married my dad. She went from that life, to a brand new life in one day.

My dad on the other hand, has lived in four different states, two different countries, and multiple cities. He’s been to different schools and different churches. He has traveled to China, Brazil, England, Italy, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Rome, and Israel. He has seen so much of the world. And he says he’d be happy waking up in a new city every day.

Their lives are so different, and I see myself so much in my mother. I see myself in her quiet love of the certain, the same, the familiar, the secure. As much I long to have a spirit of wanderlust, I cannot be what I am not.

And yet.

I find myself aching so often for something different. Sometimes, I want to wear flower crowns, and change my style, and cut my hair. Sometimes I want to fly to California just to explore a place I’ve never been. Sometimes, I want to say goodbye to everything and start over fresh. I want to be an artist. I want to be a writer. I want to be this person I am not.

And sometimes, I wonder, why. Do I want do these things because I’m having some sort of quarter life crisis? Am I bored with my life? Am I accepting change, or trying to find fulfillment in it. Too often, I know of myself that I want to do different things because I believe somehow, that Hannah, with Coachella style, and an L.A. lifestyle, would be happier than High Point Hannah living her life exactly the same way every day. But that isn’t true.

As my friend, Holly, so beautifully put, Greensboro is still Greensboro, no matter where I am. And wherever I am, I am still me. I cannot escape Hannah Ray. And truly, I would never want to. And Hannah Ray, can never be fulfilled without Jesus. Flower crowns will not make me happy. L.A. sunsets will not satisfy. Planes, trains, and automobiles will never satisfy this spirit of wanderlust. Sameness will never satisfy this spirit of a homebody.

Recently I was introduced to the book, Soulkeeping. In the book, the author explains that our souls are created with such immense desire. Physical desire for another person. Social desire for relationships. Desires to see the world, to change, to grow, to learn, to understand, to love, to cry, to laugh… to live. And we are created with that desire because we must have something to crave. We crave, deep down, the Heaven that awaits us and the God who created us. We crave something, so that we may wake each day living to satisfy our souls.

But what are we choosing to satisfy this longing? Too often, I believe if my life could look like some sort of tumblr photo feed, I would be satisfied. But Jesus created me to be satisfied by Him alone. 

I feel lost to myself right now. I am in such a strange limbo of wanting everything to stay exactly the same, and yet feeling as if I shall explode if everything doesn’t change. Who am I? A homebody? A wanderlust?

I am me.

I am who God created me to be. I am lost, yet He finds me. I am empty, yet He fills me. I am desiring so much, yet He satisfies me.

I have come to realize, that you can spend forever looking at what was, what could have been, what might have been, what will be, what might be, what would be, or what should be.

But you are only given one thing. What is.

Do I still sometimes want things to change? Of course. I believe that we are made to change and to grow. I just must remember not to find salvation in that change. I must not find salvation in sameness. I must bask in the gift of the present, whenever that may be. 

Rejection hurts. A study recently came out, showing that 10 out of 10 people have experienced rejection at some point in their life. I would beg to make the case that a good percentage of that 10 of 10 probably disliked the rejection they received as well. I’m not an expert on the human condition, but I am, after all, a human. I’m not an expert on rejection, but I’ve been rejected enough times in my life. I’ve been rejected enough times in the past week to realize rejection teaches a few very important lessons, if we are willing to learn them.

Let me begin by saying, the past weeks have been less than. *Note: If you aren’t interested in the pity party section of this article, skip to paragraph four.* I’ve been told “no” enough times to fill my quota for a long, long time. Let’s just say if I had a boyfriend, he probably would have broken up with me. Yeah, it’s been that kind of week. I was turned down by a few things that I really wanted and worked for. It was the kind of turn down that just makes your heart sick and your stomach hurt. It was the kind of turn down that hits you exactly where it hurts. In the midst of rejection, I think our first extinct is to throw a good old fashion pity party. Maybe you’re stronger than me, and you take every rejection in stride, working to be a better person because of it. If that’s you, I applaud you. I’d like to think that’s who I am. But as I set out the hypothetical streamers and party hats for my pity party, I was hit with the reality that I am not that strong person.

The first rejection came early on in the week. It was the rejection from a play for which I had auditioned. I auditioned with high hopes. I loved the role, and I really wanted it. The second rejection came in the form of a little white envelope. I have to say, this rejection hurt more than the first one. Inside that little white envelope wasn’t acceptance, but instead the two little words I didn’t want to hear. Inside the envelope were the words “wait list.” Wait list, is college speak for, “we invited a lot of cool kids to this party, but if they don’t show up, I guess you’ll do.” It’s hurtful to say the least. Even though I knew neither of these rejections were personal assaults on my character, they still hurt. Even though neither of these rejections was going to ruin my life, both really leveled me.

So, this got me thinking. Why was I crying over cast lists and white envelopes? There had to be something deeper behind rejection.

This is where the learning came in. I am a firm believer that God redeems every trial in our life. And I think He often redeems these trials by using them to teach and grow us. So after a good pity party, I forced myself to search for the lesson in rejection. What did these rejections teach me about myself? I came to the conclusion that there were two main reasons rejection hurts.

1.) Rejection hurts because we feel like we have wasted our efforts.

Have you ever tried out for something that you knew you didn’t work that hard for? It was a lot less upsetting to get rejected from that, because you could easily see it was something you could have controlled. I think rejection is a wound that is salted by the amount we worked for and wanted acceptance. I wanted more than anything, to be cast in the play. I wanted to say the lines and get the headline, and feel the part. I wanted it so much I could taste it, so I only took the rejection that much harder.

In regards to that little white envelope, I worked hard for that one. I wrote essays. I got letters of reference. I interviewed. I spent four years of high school trying to get grades that would make colleges consider me. I went through three SAT prep courses. I worked my butt off with the end goal of getting a big white envelope with the words, “we are pleased to accept.” I didn’t work for the words, “we regret to inform.” I suddenly felt like all my effort was futile. What had I really worked for?

When we don’t really want things, or we don’t really work for them, we can’t really blame anyone other than ourselves. We are in control. When you truly worked your hardest, and want it most, and you still don’t get it, you are left without any control. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome. And this leads us to thinking about the second reason…

2.) Rejection hurts because it makes us ask, “what’s wrong with me?”

The first reason is the natural reaction to wanting and working and ending up with the results you didn’t want. This reason is deeper. This reason cuts harder, and scars more. You can be the most self-confident, self-assured person who ever lived, and yet human nature is to feel hurt by rejection. When you hear the words, “thanks but no thanks,” your brain kicks in immediately to start evaluating the situation. We were created to work and reap the benefits of our labor. When we feel like we failed, and the fruits weren’t harvested, our brains try to help us figure out “what went wrong.” Unfortunately that usually leaves us saying not, “what went wrong with this situation, and what can I do to learn from it?” but instead, “what is inherently wrong with me that I wasn’t good enough?”

“Not good enough” can resonate inside of us for a long time after all the little white envelopes have been recycled. “Not good enough” soon turns into a dangerous game of comparison. We start looking around and saying, “of if only I was more like them. They got into this thing! They always gets what they want! Of course I wasn’t going to succeed. Not when there are people like them!” Suddenly, it isn’t even about the rejection. It’s a war inside of us.

Rejection hurts when it makes us question our identity. How I viewed myself was affected by my acceptance into the cast of that show and that college. I knew that I would feel a little more validated as a person if I heard the word, “yes.” When we find our identity in things that we cannot control, and further, when we find our identity in the wrong indicators, it can severely skew our view of ourselves.

Again, maybe you are a confident person who has never experienced these feelings of self-doubt. Congratulations. It’s an amazing thing to be thankful for the person you are, and to be content in your life. Or maybe you externalize rejection, instead of internalizing it. I’m not saying everyone falls into the same category with rejection. So if you’ve never experienced these feelings of inadequacy, keep reading, maybe you’ll learn something about the people around you. If you have experienced these feelings, remember, as cliché as it sounds, you are not alone!

While you’re walking around comparing yourself to other people, they’re comparing themselves to you. While you’re wondering why you don’t measure up in certain areas, they’re wondering why they don’t measure up in certain areas. Even those people who seem to hear “yes” every day of their life, have or will at some point in their life experience rejection. You may not see it on the outside, but no one is immune to rejection.

It’s also important to realize, rejection is not synonymous with failure. Working hard and wanting something, and then not getting it, does not mean you failed. And it most definitely does not mean you are a failure. Sometimes, in all honesty, we work hard and it isn’t enough. The standard was too high before we even set out to accomplish our goal. Does that mean that we are less of ourselves? No! Does that mean we should never try for anything ever again? Of course not! How would we know what we were capable of accomplishing if we never tried?

It’s also important to remember, it’s okay when rejection hurts. It’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing for me to stand here and tell you all that I didn’t achieve those things. It’s embarrassing to admit that we didn’t reach the aims we had for ourselves. Our pride is wounded. Everyone posts pictures of acceptance letters. No one jumps up and downs and calls their grandmother to say, “I just got rejected!” It hurts to hear that we weren’t chosen, because deep down, we all want to be chosen.  But it’s important in those times of embarrassment and hurt, not to let those emotions eclipse our logic. To quote Scarlett O’Hara, “tomorrow is another day.” The sun does rise again, and sooner or later that pain fades. What shouldn’t fade are the lessons we learn from the pain.

So what lessons am I taking away from rejection?

1.) Sometimes rejection is completely independent of us. – Sometimes we work as hard as we possibly can, and we still get rejected. Sometimes we are rejected based on factors that in actuality have nothing to do with us. Just because you see a small piece of the picture, it doesn’t mean you see the whole picture.

2.) Rejection should not be a gateway to play the comparison game. – You are you. You were created for a specific purpose. If you didn’t accomplish what you worked hard for, it just means that there is something greater ahead of you. Stop looking at other people’s successes. They were created with their own purposes. God has a plan for your life that is a lot bigger than any rejection you may experience now. God has planned more for our lives than we could ever imagine, even if we don’t see it now. (Isa. 55:8)

3.) Rejection is not a reflection of who I am, or how my life will play out. – I was the same person I was two weeks ago before casts lists and white envelopes. My family doesn’t love me any less. My life is not drastically altered by the rejection. I am not worth less, because my plans didn’t come to fruition. And my future is not bleak, because my present didn’t occur the way I had planned. Your identity should be based in something much deeper than the word, “yes.” (Hint: Identity is based on what your Creator thinks about you. Psalm 139:14)

4.) The rejection of today, should never affect our outlook on tomorrow. – (oops, got a little fortune cookie on that one.) Rejection hurts. Rejection hurts, and it makes us wonder who we are. But rejection should never keep us from trying again tomorrow.

5.) Rejection does not define us. Instead it’s how we react to that rejection that determines the person we are. – I dealt with rejection by writing this. Am I super thrilled about my rejections, and ready to take them in stride with a skip in my step? Absolutely not. (If you answered yes, you need to reread this article.) My attitude could still use some work, but I hope that in some way, writing this can help someone else with rejection. I hope I go back and reread this whenever I go through more times of rejection, as I am sure to do in the future.  And I hope that in four years, the rejection will not be what I remember as my defining moment. Instead, I hope I remember the person God molded me into in the midst of rejection.