Melissa:
Many months ago I was speaking to my lovely roommate, Kirby, trying to convince her of the importance of reading. I had recently read the “Something Blue” and “Something Borrowed” books and just fell in love with being able to get immersed into a story, and something that wasn’t my everyday life. I also found reading a lovely way to help knock myself into slumber, as lying in bed at night allowed my mind to run away with my own insecurities and feelings about the trials and tribulations I had been experiencing. A few short months later I came home from what was a particularly trying day at work, to find Kirby curled up on the couch reading! The next day she was done her book and told me how inspired she was by the author’s story. At the time I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love” but decided to take a hiatus to read what had to be an amazing book to keep Kirby so engaged for 48 hours! As I read Gretchen’s “The Happiness Project” and learned of Kirby’s intentions to do her own Happiness Project I felt like there was no better time to work on myself. In the past 2 years of my life I’ve managed to overcome a crippling breakup, a landlord try to get me fired from my job, a lay off, unemployment, a sprained ankle, fallen friendships, and multiple blows to my ego that left me wondering who I am, what is my purpose, and where do I go from here?
As I’ve finally started to see that light at the end of the tunnel which began with a new job that gladly took all of my focus, and a commitment to getting back into shape, I was on the path to really knowing me, and loving being in my own skin. While reading “The Happiness Project” I decided that I didn’t just want to be a “new and improved” version of Melissa, I wanted to be the best Melissa possible! The starting point was to list my faults….the one’s I know I have, the one’s other’s have told me I have and the one’s I have, that other people like, but that I don’t think are necessarily the best life choices (no more ‘hand grenades’ at Hudson’s Taphouse for me guys!) At 25 I feel like I have a fairly good idea of where I want to go, and how to get there, I just need a plan. So here I go, dedicating the next 365 days of my life to becoming the best version of myself possible. Why wait until I’m 40 and having a slightly mid-life realization when I can fix things now, and learn to appreciate every day while I have all the independence in the world. A year ago I wanted to get the words “carpe diem” tattooed on my wrist. I want to make that tattoo be a life practice instead of something that I think sounds cool. I want to seize the day. I want to not take things for granted. I want all the people in my life that I love to know I love and appreciate them. And most importantly, I want to be sitting in a rocking chair, on a porch, watching a sunset, in about 60 years and know that I didn’t waste anytime being unhappy. I didn’t waste a single day not loving every breath I took.
No comments:
Post a Comment