"It never really goes away"

After class yesterday, McKenna and I were sitting in the hallway when she made the comment,
"You know, with pointe, I don't think the pain ever really goes away."
She told me how she realized at the end of class not long ago she realized how badly her toes actually hurt, and that if she was new on pointe, it would be too much to handle; discouraging even. But somehow we learn to live with the discomfort and keep going. The pain never goes away, we just learn how to handle it.

It reminded me of grief.
I've known more grief in my days than most people realize, and I've often thought of how in the world I'm even still here.
The pain never goes away, we just learn how to handle it.

Jilissa says that ballerinas are among some of the most tolerant people when it comes to pain, that even her doctor was amazed at how much she could handle. She told us we would become stronger women for having trained in ballet.
That is how I'm still here.
That is how I still go on.
Life sucks sometimes, it throws you curve balls out of the blue, it can be really hard
But you learn how to handle it
You learn how to not let it overcome you
How to rise above the pain.

I will rise.