On a Friday evening, near the end of November, a couple of local police officers knocked on my door. I barely heard them. Such a polite knocking—so unlike the I'm gonna knock down your door if you don't answer it in two seconds kind of scenario you see in movies. Looking through the peep hole, I had the sinking feeling that once again, my life was about to undergo a profound change and I'd be forced to take a detour from what I had planned.

You can start out with the best intentions and have a schedule of what you want to achieve and all the components required to make that happen, until life comes along and tells you differently—even laughs in your face while doing it. To be blunt, the past twelve months have been brutal.

Once in a while, I still hear our mother's voice in my ear—challenges come your way because you need to build more character.