Road Trips and Why Everyone Should Travel(the short version)

So, you know all those movies in the 90's and 2000's about road trips? Or well, the two that I can think of off the top of my head? Basically any movie or book or TV series or comic that featured a road trip between friends. Well, those all made us want to go on an epic, life-changing road trip with our best buds, right?

 No? So...that was just me? *taps mic* Is this thing even on?


Ahem.


Yeah, so because of those (especially The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman), a road trip has been on my bucket list for years. When my two best friends decided they wanted to go on one I immediately began throwing out ideas and making tentative plans. Mid-May, right after school got out and right before I really began my new job(more on that later) and they had to go back to work, we went. Thoroughly packed and prepared of course(I over-planned and over-packed, because reasons).

That's really all the leg room we had.

 Off across the country for ten days, to Yellowstone National Park we went. It was AMAZING. I'm not going to go all cliche on you guys and say it changed my life forever and I'll never be the same blah blah blah, but it was definitely a fantastic, and at least a little bit of a life-changing experience. Garden of the Gods was really great, and all the rock formations were just so HUGE.

 I used to live in Yellowstone when I was a kid, so it was pretty awesome to be able to go back. I took a few photos reliving moments of my childhood(as soon as I can find the original photos, I'll put those up beside these).
This was *my* tree growing up, and it's been my happy place for years. It was pretty flipping sweet to be there again.

At the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This was before the hike down into the Canyon, on the day we called the "Defying Death Day" of the trip. It was a pretty strenuous hike. RIP, my lungs.






And the things we saw on the way up there and on the return trip were just as awesome. I saw the Grand Canyon for the first time ever.

 We stopped at Bryce Canyon on a whim, and I'm so glad we did. That place was beautiful!

So was Zion National Park, which I'd never heard of until recently. Phenomenal beauty, how did I never ever hear about this place?

Alright, enough pic-spam for now. But seriously. These places were amazing. All of these breath-taking landscapes did what I thought they would-they took my breath away. But there was something that I wasn't expecting. Everyone always says places like the Grand Canyon make you feel small. I mean, yeah, they're huge. Pike's Peak(which we couldn't see because of cloud cover) is 14,114 feet above sea level. And I'm barely 5'2". These places did make me feel tiny(not a hard thing to do, standing next to pretty much anyone reminds me of that), but they also made me feel....gigantic. Big enough to do anything. Big enough to face my uncertainty and anxiety head on. Big enough to let change into my life. Big enough to not be afraid of the future. Big enough to remember good times, rather than bad. Big enough to work towards more good memories, rather than sit and wait in the sad times. Travel does that, I know. It widens our perspective, etc. I wish it was more available to everyone. In other countries it's a normal thing for kids to take off a year between high school and college just to travel. It breaks my heart knowing how much travel costs and how so many people never can get any time off to go, or they won't take it, or whatever. A good friend of mine goes to concerts all the time with her dad and her husband. Her little girl, who is now almost 6 months old has technically "seen" a handful of classic rock bands when she was in the womb. My friend and her husband both work a whole lot, but they take the time to go do things. That's awesome to me. More people should take the time to do the things they want to do. I'm so glad my friends and I got to go on this trip. Because it definitely changed my perspective in one big way. I need to take the time, do whatever it really takes to go and do what I want to do *now*. It might be 6 months to a year in between things, but I'm going to travel again as soon as possible. And until then, I'm going to do the small things that broaden my horizons, like read or watch movies/TV shows I've been putting off, spending time with people I haven't seen in forever, blogging and writing more(cough cough). I want to live my life now, not later. There might not be a later. 

I hope you have a wonderful day, dear readers. Find a way to do something for yourself this week that you've been putting off. Even if it's reading a book or taking a weekend morning to drink a cup of coffee and talk on the phone with an old friend. Here's a quote to sum up my feelings for the moment(I've got to run some errands before work, and the morning got away from me), and I pray that can have the ability to do whatever you dream of doing. 

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand--and melting like a snowflake...”

― Francis Bacon

The Power of Words

Today we forget how powerful our words can be.

We "love" coffee, we "hate" traffic. 
What type of people are we, what does it say about our hearts that we can use the two most powerful sentiments on fluff and chaff? We give up the meat & potatoes of life for the fat and worthless scraps of empty echoes. Why? We are made for speech, for relational moments. We are made with souls to express ourselves. Why do we blather and squawk, sounding as if we are just taught to speak as a trick. Why do we let such power go to waste? Why can't we use it to define us? Why can't we use it for good? To build each other, ourselves up? We use words like pennies, not realizing we're throwing away priceless gems & gold. 

Language is what sets us apart from animals(though dolphins and velociraptors could have us beat),

 

Seriously. These guys probably have better vocab then tweens these days.

....ahem....but we bleat out the same words day after day, sentence after sentence, tweet after tweet. Next time you're talking to someone, keep a tally of how many times "like" is said. That's one of my greatest problems, and one of my personal vices I wish to overcome, so don't think I'm sitting on a hipster holier-than-thou throne of unheard of records and films. That's not me, by far. How I'd *like* to see myself is an intelligent, warm, accepting person, who loves & relies on conversation,  good conversation. With eye contact and no cell phones to distract us from getting to know one another. To respect each other's presence by being present. Actually listening and responding in kind. Not just waiting our turn to speak. 

In this day and age of such interconnected-ness we are the least connected age. Many people I know and see end up sitting next to each other in silence: texting others, smiling vaguely at funny videos about cats, or talking to others who aren't even there rather than enjoy each other's personal real-life interactions.

Seriously, this comic gets it. Hold on, let me respond to this text. Oh wait...

Whining about "kids these days" is not the object of this post however, so I'll let that dead horse lay there for now. 

I just want everyone to take a moment today and think about the words you say. Think about where they are coming from. For those of us who take stock in the bible, Matthew 15 speaks about this subject. Christ is challenged by some hypocrites *cough cough* I meant Pharisees, sorry, and they tell Him what goes into a man's mouth makes him unclean. Christ replies that that in fact is not true, but what comes out of a man's mouth defiles him. And what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart. So, dear readers, search your hearts as you speak. You may not be Christian, you may not follow any religion at all, but you have to admit that we are all human beings. So we are all worthy of love and respect, yourselves included. So guard your heart, guard the words you use. I won't say use them sparingly. Anyone who knows me in the "real" world knows I can't ever shut up. But what I am trying so desperately to say is that you have so much power in you, in your words. Do not waste it. Because that would be, like, a tragedy, you know? 

As I always do, I give you quotes in closing. Because there are so many others that have come before to say what I'm trying to say in a much more beautiful, poignant way than I can. Have a wonderful day, and take care of yourself. You're worth getting to know, and those around you are worthy to hear what you actually have to say, as they are. Listen to them, listen to yourself. 

"Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts." 

— Patrick Rothfuss

"A word has power in and of itself. It comes from nothing into sound and meaning; it gives origin to all things." 

— N. Scott Momaday 

"True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions."
— Joseph Addison

The Seven P's of My Personality

Obviously, I took another terrible hiatus from blogging. I am very very sorry.




In reparation, I present to you a list of sorts that I wrote, of seven different qualities I wish to claim as pillars of my psyche.


PRODUCTIVITY:

Set a goal for writing and reading. Get stuff done in a timely manner and just do it. No day should pass without words written. No play time without getting high priority tasks done.
Gosh, apparently I'm obsessed with alliteration today.
As this year comes to a close, I have been making accounts of the past 12 months, and the year before that as well. I weep over how much time I wasted on giving up on things, on people, and on myself. I have said it before, that I'm sorry, and I'm trying and striving to be better. A better writer, a better friend, a better me. 

This time, I mean it. The next two weeks are being spent in serious self-reflection and preparation for a new year of challenges, of Writing Dangerously, of Living Purposefully. I'll go more into detail this weekend(see what I did there, I'm saying that so it forces me to write again, or else people will be disgruntled with me, and I don't want anyone to be disgruntled. They should be gruntled. As in happy. That's such a weird word.), but I promise you, I haven't felt this motivated to take control of my life and actually do something since I was a child. I'm so excited to get a move on with my life, and carpe diem my present life. I've been fiddling around too long.
As always, I leave you with a quote. See you in a couple days, and have an amazing Thursday.


POSITIVITY:

Positive attitude in all things, especially myself. This will help battle my depression and anxiety. Work on what I say about self and others. Don't worry too much about future.



PUNCTUALITY:

Always be mindful of time. Wake up on time and don't waste time if things need to be done or you need to be somewhere. Schedule slow-down time but always respect others time. Being late is rude. Make a time commitment, keep it.



PLAYABILITY:

Always make time for play. Be playful and flexible. Life is an adventure, never forget that. Things never have to be serious for the most part. Laughing is a part of every day. Joy is a main input/output. "Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." - Mother Teresa

PRIORITY:

Keep priorities straight, focus on long term goals, on spiritual journey, on maintaining good relationships, make decisions on what's important and leave the rest behind. Priority is self-growth to make the world a better place and to live life to the fullest. Be humble, believe in yourself, and remember the Lord.



PEOPLE:

"Never forget that there is always someone there for me. I am not alone. Even if there is a hectic schedule and lots going on, never forget about those who love me. Whether stressful or happy play, someone is always there to help." - Kayla Marie Hernandez Community is needed, a good community. Anyone who brings me down or breaks my trust can go. Anyone else, make time for them. They may not stay forever, so cherish them while you can.



PRAYER:

Mediation and reflection. Spirituality is too big a part of me to just let it go. I can't stand on my own without it. When you're ready, find out why. Until then, faith of a child is all that is needed. I don't need to be a theologian or Mother Teresa. All I need is Faith, Hope, and Love. Especially Love.



"The ship that you're waiting for to come in, may very well be the ship that you need to build." - Eddie Harris, Jr.

And So Ends the Summer of Disappointment

Well, this summer did not go as planned. I won't bore you with the dramatic details. As the summer months went on, my life changed irrevocably. By mid-May, I was single again, completely broken down and wasn't sure where to go. By June, I was still attempting to make living with my ex work. By July, Riley and I were back living with my parents and the iron social networking veil of no contact had pretty much fallen with my old life. It's August now. So much has changed in such a small amount of time, and not just for me. Others' lives have been gone through their own shattering revolutions. A person that I had been close to, but had been in a stupid fight with for awhile, passed away with no warning and no apology between us. More than one of my closest friends went through tough breakups, too. So many dreams I had came crashing down. People I thought I knew and thought would be there forever, became strangers. A slap in the face, like the shock of ice water, when I realized the truth about, well, everything I had been trusting and believing. I felt like I was thrown back to the beginning, that I had lost everything I had been fighting so hard for.


Thank God for that.



Khalil Gibran wrote something akin to how I feel about this situation:


"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain."


I feel like this is the part of my life where one could I say I was at the end of my rope, and there was no where else to go but up. But I don't believe that. Yes this was, as the title says, a Summer of Severe Disappointment. I hurt, I lost. But I've become so much stronger in a much shorter time that I expected. I've learned so much and meta-morphed into someone new, someone much closer to the person I hope to "grow up to be". So many amazing people helped me through this situation, with words of encouragement, positive criticism on things I needed to change, and just plain old hugs. From the deepest depths of my soul, thank you to each of you who helped me at all this summer.



I've learned that anger isn't always a bad thing. It's a tool to use to lift yourself from a bad situation. It's a catalyst for change. Channel it into a something that betters yourself. People are a disappointment, yes. People are infuriating with the choices they make that hurt others. But don't let those other people or that anger knock you down or destroy you. Use it and move on. Was I angry when I caught my ex in lies and realized he was already dating not a week after he left me? Yes. Was I angry at being stuck between a rock and a hard place with rent? Yes. Was I furious that I had to move back in with my parents and leave the home I had made for myself at that apartment? Yes. Did I cry and scream and lose sleep over all of it? Yes. But that's to be expected in any situation like this. And it's OK that I did all of those things. Did I take my own advice and use it to better myself? Not at first. But something was stirring in my soul, a yearning to learn from this and to not make the same mistakes again. An ache to be myself again.


And, small step by small step, I am becoming myself again. I may not have had an earth-shattering revelation about what I'm supposed to be doing with my life, yet. But am I working towards it? Yes. I have an endless well of love and passion for life in my heart. I'm not going to waste that. I want to share it. Bit by bit, I find myself trimming the hedges and curbing my small vices. I buy less, and try to save more, or invest my money more wisely than I used to. I'm a manager at my job now, finally accepting serious responsibility after 4.5 years. I've begun researching "careers" for the future, and trying to decide what my next professional step will be. I'm working on a manuscript to hopefully be published, or at least accepted for publishing by the end of the year. I have discovered that I really enjoy and cherish alone time, something I never really liked before(maybe it's because I now have a dog to share that alone time with). I also realized that I'm tired of the dating game I've been playing for years. I'm tired of giving pieces of my heart away to people who hadn't earned it. I've made my peace and shut the door on the past, and it's so rewarding to have done that finally.


I've learned some valuable lessons this year, and I will not forget the mistakes I made or the wounds that are now knitting themselves back together. I really am not sure what the point of this blog post is, but to share with you my experiences, and hopefully help someone out there who is possibly going through something similar. I also am wrapping this up a little quicker than I meant to because I have to go to work. :)


Have a fantastic day, let change come if it needs to, and don't let the bad outweigh the good. Here's a quote from Doctor Who to end with:

“The good things don’t always soften the bad, but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.” -The Eleventh Doctor

All in the Attitude

This post is probably going to get a bit personal, and I apologize for it, but I also want my readers to take away something positive from this post. Don't be too harsh on me. Also, I promise from here on out, for the next month expect a post every other week, then in June




Everyone who knows me well knows I struggle to control my emotions. No melodramatic woe-is-me bull here, just real talk. I have problems with controlling the way I feel or react to things around me. I desperately need to learn to control it. Especially when it comes to work and to the people I love.




As a mini-adult, I've realized everyone was right and things do get really hard. Time gets shorter, or so it seems. There are more bills to pay, you struggle with guesstimating how much will be on each check by how many hours you get. You beg your boss for more hours and then realize you don't have a day off for the next two weeks. Oh well, shrug it off and make sure you do what you have to do when you have an off morning or evening. You don't get to see the people you love often, or even find a spare moment for a phone call or a text. You really should delete Facebook from your phone because it takes up too much of your precious time. Also, just your damn smart phone in general. Put. It. Down.



This isn't a fun time, nor is it attractive.




And the creativity that used to flow like a waterfall in spring is dried up to drought standards because you're just too damn tired to even think. No excuse whatsoever though for not keeping up with this blog and my dear readers(you are there, right? hello? Is that an echo I hear?). Being an adult really means being tired all the time, not being able to take a nap, and still having things to do. Nights get shorter, days get longer and the coffee runs out quicker.



Probably because I drink it like this.


When I start struggling to keep my attitude at work, it effects my job performance and it effects the moods of my coworkers. One of my bosses recently sat me down and talked to me about letting myself be victimized and that I just need to toughen up and grow [up] a thicker skin. Easier said than done about the last part. I've always been sensitive, and criticism without encouragement, acknowledgement, and cooperation is lost on

me. I shut down. I can't afford that in the work place. I need to get my rear in gear and focus on my work. I can't just roll-over and quit when things get hard. I may not have enjoyed that talk, or liked it, but I did need to hear it.




At the job I've had for the past four and a half years, we follow a set of rules about our emotions. It's called FISH, and you've probably heard of it if you're either a) a boss trying to improve your employees' attitudes and performance, or b) you've been to Pike Place in Seattle, WA. What FISH means is this:



Choose Your Attitude
Make Their Day
Be Present
Play


Now, what does that mean in daily life and in the work place? Choosing your attitude means just that. You have the power to decide if you're going to have a good day or not. Use that power. Yeah, days can go bad, problems arise and crap happens. But that doesn't mean your entire day has to be ruined. Take the bad with the good, and move on if you can. For work, you leave your problems at the door. Let work be a safe place away from all the drama and problems in your life[even if work might be one of the problems. If that's the case, you probably want to talk to your boss and possibly find a new job that you do enjoy].






Making their day might be a little trickier. This doesn't mean you have to take the time to personally make everyone's day. What it means is the encounters you do have, make them pleasant ones. Smile at strangers. End your conversations with "have a good day". Search for the positive in others, compliment people, if you have to opportunity to help someone or brighten their day, do it. It'll make you feel much better, I promise. At work, you want to go above and beyond when you can. If you work in the service industry or retail, take what pride you can it. Take the time to serve each customer to the best of your ability. Even when you or they are having a bad day.






Be present means, for work and real life, be present to the people you are with. Put down your phone when you're with others. Make eye contact. Have a real conversation. Find out what your customers are doing with their day, why they came to see you, and make a real connection with them. If you can't do it for their sake, do it for your own. You'll feel better and it'll help you when it comes to promotion and raise time.






The last one, play, means that nothing, even your job, has to be boring or tiresome. You can play wherever you are. Be happy. Play a game, make the time past faster and let other people join in with you. You'll be happier overall, and it's not as tiring as it sounds. Its more rejuvenating than anything.






Yeah, it may seem like this is just a way for companies to keep their employees quiet and happy in their low-paying meaningless job. Don't see it that way. See it as a philosophy to better your own life and your time at your job, whatever it is. And besides, arguing about corporations keeping the working person down isn't what this post is about.






What this post is about is this. Everything that you go through, every tough moment in your day, every jerk in the grocery store line, every teenager on their cell phone who cuts you off on your way home from a long day, stop letting it affect you. Stop letting things get to you. Yeah, I know. "Megsy, that's easy for you to say, you've got it easy, you work at a kids store and play video games on your day off." Trust me, I don't have it easy. That's just what you see on the surface. Don't make things harder than they have to be. Choose your attitude, and it changes your life.








God, I feel like Yoda. With a proper English degree and without the baldness, though I have.






Taking these to heart, and really trying to implement them in my daily life has helped me considerably. Despite the issues I deal with everyday, with family, with my loved ones and friends, with work, I still try to make the most out of my day. Despite being tired every day, despite battling my depression and anxiety, I still do what I can to make my day better and make the days of others around me better. It's all in your attitude.






I've got two quotes for you today.





Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.


Khalil Gibran





Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.


Thomas Jefferson






May your day be fantastic, may you take up the power you already have within yourself and choose to have a good day. Don't write this up as some New-Age BS. I'm just being honest with you as a normal person wanting to live a happy life. Choose to be happy and make the most of your day. You can do it!

The Best You Can Be in the Moment You're In

 A Creed for Being the Best You Can Be

Speak and you will be heard;

make your words kind

and you will be judged so.

Love kindly and unselfishly

with no wish to possess.

Search for who you are

and for what matters.

Give freely to all,

and you shall receive

so much more.

Listen to the troubles of others,

and your own shall be halved.

Live each day as your last,

treasuring each sight and sound.

Accept what you have 

and all that is freely given.

Strive to be greater than

you were before.

Ask, and even your smallest wish

will be granted.

Dream of what can be -

a world of peace and beauty

for all to share.

-Stephanie Robinson

  Good morning everyone! Just wanted to write up a quick post about being your best self. I say this a lot, and most of the time I take it as a serious challenge that weighs a little bit on my mind, and sometimes causes me to worry that I'm not doing enough. This shouldn't be the case.

  Being the best you can be in the moment you're in, it just means to be open. To be happy. To be yourself, your true self, and let it shine out in the world, sharing your passion and your love with those around you. Enjoy the moments that you have. Focus on the good. Don't let things overwhelm you. Just breathe. Breathe in your inspiration, breathe out your creativity. 

  A really good friend of mine who is beyond talented wrote about one's inspiration and creativity yesterday. She inspired me to start this blog, and that post inspired me to write something this morning. You should scoot over there and check it out.  She talks about seeing what others produce around you, truly seeing it and appreciating it, and allowing it to inspire you.

  Now, I'm just a writer. I get craftsy now and again, but my true gift is with words. You can do anything you like, or nothing at all. What I'm saying to you today is enjoy yourself, enjoy the moment you're in, enjoy others. Appreciate all of it, especially yourself. Because when you truly begin to see yourself minus the social pressure to be some constantly changing definition of  price-tagged perfect, that is when you are the best self you can be. When you take in everything that's going on around you and breathe it in, loving every moment and appreciating the gifts of those you surround yourself with, even if its just a simple conversation, that's when you are truly living in the moment and sharing your soul.

  I know I've already given you a quote up there, but I want to leave you with one more.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. -Marianne Williamson

  Don't be afraid to open yourself up and just be. Don't be afraid to be open with others and allow them to be open with you. Enjoy. Appreciate. Be. Live.

 
Until next time, have an amazing day, may your heart radiate with joy, and may you not fear to be open with others, and may you be encouraged to be the best you can be!  

Real Life Doesn't Have a Spring Break(And You Don't Have To Be Depressed About It!)

Spring Break!

Except, real life doesn't have a spring break, does it? I'm rapidly coming to terms with that, and that since I'm most probably taking an indefinite break from academia I'm probably not going to get another "spring break" any time soon.

But you know what? I'm okay with that.

First of all, in order to give you guys some eye candy to break up the monotony of my words, I googled the term "spring break". If I was pubescent boy I would have been very, very pleased. Eye candy, indeed.

Yay. Softcore porn. Pass the tissues, please.

...*Cough* Not my idea of a good spring break. In fact, today is my last day of my own "spring break". I asked off a handful of days from both my jobs because I originally planned to go to Austin, but instead I took the thrifty way to go and stayed home. I had good friends in from out of town who I don't get to see often. We stayed in and played video games pretty much the whole time. The second evening we tired of lounging around all day and we walked down the street to a friend's apartment...to play Super Smash Bros. [Insert nostalgic feeling here.] We're an easy bunch. Just give us internet connection and we're entertained. But it was a good visit with actual human interaction that wasn't a sales transaction at one of my jobs. I enjoyed it very much. Early mornings, late nights, lots of coffee and good conversation. Many laughs were had, too. These are the days I live for. As the Fifth Doctor said in the Earthshock episode: “For some people, small, beautiful events are what life is all about.”

Here's something you have to know about me. Though I do love going out and roaming the town, having a drink and listening to a local band at Thirsty's or Tequila Rok. I love getting dressed up and going places. But my true idea of a "real good time"? Sharing a cup of coffee or tea outside on the porch or around the coffee table with those I hold dear. Knocking back some cold ones in the evening watching a favorite TV show and playfully discussing if there's a conspiracy theory behind it. A small gathering of tipsy friends playing Cards Against Humanity(Have you played that game? Seriously, look it up right now, I'll wait).

Just a sample, read the black card, and insert the bottom white card of each pair into the first blank, and the top white card into the bottom blank. So it would read: "Honey I have a new role-play I want to try tonight! You can be Hulk Hogan, and I'll be peeing a little bit."

That was one of the rounds played the other night, and those were the top two choices. In that game everyone's politically correct um rude as hell an asshole, and we're a  freaking hilarious bunch of assholes.

Anyways, that's my idea of a good time. Not that my partying days are over. Like I said, give me half an hour's notice that We Were Wolves is in town, and you know I'll be front and center rocking out drunk on Jack&Cokes and partying the night away.  And hold on, this post is supposed to be about spring break and how real life doesn't have one...damn tangents.

Spring break was originally designed to give kids in school a break(obviously). For college kids, it was a chance for them to get wasted every day guilt-free and not worry about a test the next morning. In my experience of college, and especially the one and a half semesters of grad school I've had, its more of a week to study for midterms and get in some extra hours at your dead-end job so you can buy more adderall. Everyone desperately looks forward to it, to each little break one gets from the depressingly heavy course load, whether it be Winter, Spring, Summer, or the measly two days off for Thanksgiving. Two days for a turkey coma to set in, the weekend to study for finals, and back to the grindstone it is, and don't forget to be thankful! 

Surprise! Real-world adults don't get these scheduled breaks, apparently. 9-5 every day, weekends off if you're lucky. Or if you work in retail or the service industry, its more like a day off during the week, two tops, and long, varying shifts on the weekends, because you're there to serve everyone who does have the weekend off. Vacation time is few and far between, if you get vacation time. Sounds depressing doesn't it? 

All the pretty colors! Maybe this will get me through one more day of waiting tables and writing papers...

It doesn't have to be. The whole point of this post boils down to these next two sentences. (Big pressure now) 

Spend your time wisely and, most importantly, by doing what fulfills you and makes you happy. You can control your time and therefore your happiness.

Simple as that. Give yourself a purpose in life if you wish, or just enjoy where you are. If you have to work harder and longer hours to get to a position where you don't have to, do that. But also don't sacrifice your present happiness and well-being for that castle in the sky of more time off to spend doing X later. You can save up and work towards a better position while enjoying your life right now. Like I said in part one of The "Grown-Up Question", later is now. Just because you're working full time, or you're at school full time and working part-time, whatever your lot in life, that does NOT mean you can't enjoy yourself. It does NOT mean you can't cultivate a hobby or your personal life. It does NOT mean you have a free pass to complain about how busy you are or just be tired all the time. I know just as well as the next person how tiring and overworked one can be. That isn't healthy, and everyone needs to slow it down a notch, in my opinion. But the point I'm trying to make is that you can choose your attitude, no matter what you're experiencing. Trust me, working full time and going to school full time the past few months exhausted me. I've been really sick, and for about a year now I've been on the verge of a complete mental break down, if I haven't already experienced it. I began to have anxiety and panic attacks regularly.

But you know what? I had the power to change that. I started going back to therapy regularly(when I had the time). I began to spend more time around others that made me laugh and smile, focusing on the good. I cut out the negative people in my life. I try to remember to smile and focus on the joy, the little things. I am definitely still a work in progress, and will probably always be. But when I realized that I can still make my own decisions about my life, and I can decide to be happy no matter what situation I'm in, it doesn't matter if I get a long break to rest up for the next long stretch of toil and drudgery. I can give myself a break to do whatever I please in the little hours that I do have off. I no longer have to look months ahead of time for a break. I can have one every evening or morning I have off. And I don't have to be negative about all of this either. I am 23 years old, this is my time to be happy and to choose where I'm going in life. I don't want to look back on this and remember being miserable. I'm going to make the most of my life, every hour of every day. Not just during spring break.

I stumbled upon this quote years ago and it's stuck with me since. I feel like it's fitting for today's post.

"Time=Life. Waste your time, waste your life. Master your time, master your life." - Alan Lakein

Enjoy your day, make the most of it doing whatever you wish, and keep your head up. This is your life. It isn't easy, and it won't be easy. But you can make of it whatever you dream to make it, and if you do it with a smile on your face, it'll make it that much more enjoyable.

Until next time, keep smiling!