It's Crazy What Can Change in a Year

The title of this post pretty much gives away the theme of this post, as titles are wont to do.

This restless night has led me back to the blog I so cruelly abandoned approximately a year ago.  (Mini tangent: I'm not even so sure why I put an extended pause on the blogging?)

I spent a little time combing through my posts, and I was sort of shocked at what I as reading:
1. because I still like my original posts after all this time
2. because I was so stressed about my life and didn't realize how many wonderful things were coming my way

I was unemployed, single, and--to be quite honest--a little bit depressed.  As luck would have it, all three of those dispositions, if you will, have changed.  I have my first "grownup" job, a wonderful boyfriend, and am extremely happy with my life right now.

However...

I refuse to abandon what that long, hard year of unemployment has taught me.  I refuse to fall into a rut of complacency.  Instead, I strive for more every day.  Maybe I programmed myself to think like a green, unemployed college grad--maybe I'm in denial about actually being a college grad?--but I still live by a few rules I invented for myself during my first year in the Real World.

1. Save all the money!
I have always been frugal and good at saving money.  But working a part-time, minimum wage job really drove the nail in the coffin on this one.

2. Don't sweat things too much.
Jobs, relationships, friendships, getting over a heartbreak... Things happen--it's life.  Sometimes you just have to let them happen.  I have learned that there is a true art and balance to life.  Trust your gut and stay in touch with what you need.  It makes it so much easier to decide which things are worth pursuing and which things are worth letting alone to sort themselves out.

3. Ask yourself...
What can you do to make today better?  The smallest actions can have the biggest impact.  Don't doubt your influence on the world around you.

4. People will hurt you. People will use you.
Learn from it and move on.  Oh, and don't trust someone who has given you a reason not to trust them.  And another thing: it's not necessary to give someone a second chance if they really hurt you.
In short: Do bury the hatchet; don't walk around with the hatchet in your back.

5. Know who your friends are. Stick by them.
Even if that means you are your own best friend.  Sometimes the only one you can depend on is yourself.  However, give people a chance.  You may meet one of the best friends of your life when you least expect it!

6. Do what makes you happy.
Of course, this shouldn't be done at the expense of others.  But this is your life.  Dream up the biggest dreams you can dream and never stop chasing them.

7. Find what you're good at YOU LIKE and DO it!
Don't be afraid to try new things.  You never know what you'll like or be good at!  Take a class.  Read a book.  Create.  Think.  Share.  The possibilities are endless!

8. Face your fears.
After awful flights my entire life, I got myself in a big ol' airplane, flew across the ocean, and went snorkeling in the Caribbean.  Get out of the habit of avoiding inconveniences and things you don't really like--you never know what rewards may come!

Basically what I'm taking the roundabout way of saying is that a year ago, I was barely scraping by, both emotionally and financially.  Every ounce of suffering is ephemeral.  Things change.  They will get better.  You just have to feed the tenacity and starve the doubt.

As I am pursuing the application process for grad school, I, of course, am somewhat nervous.  However, I am so inexplicably excited to see what opportunities arise as the next year unfolds.