It’s 3 am on a Thursday night and I can’t sleep. So I decided to get out of bed and start writing. I haven’t really written for over a year so yeah, things are a bit rusty in this here cranium but hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?
Yes. So. It’s 2014. I’m 27 (and a half. Shut up Bob!). A lot happened in 2013 and yet it felt pretty uneventful. 365 days of change and yet somehow the ‘sum of my parts’ still feels the same (and no, this is not a fat joke).
But oh well. The most I can say is that I learned quite a bit in the past few years. Some were monumental and others were trivial but they were all fairly nifty nevertheless. So in honour of nothing in particular, here are thirteen things I’m fairly certain about.
- It’s nice to have a passion. I haven’t found mine yet, but I suppose searching is half the fun.
- It is nice to have a quest. Mine is to find the perfect macaron. I’m not slaying dragons or curing cancer, but I’m getting out of the house which, for right now, is pretty darn good enough.
- Sometimes people are jerks. They can be mean-spirited, vindictive and spiteful. But not everyone and not all the time.
- And sometimes, just sometimes, YOU are the bad guy. But again, not to everyone and not all the time.
- Allowing yourself to unselfishly give and receive love is quite possibly the single best thing you can do for yourself. It may last a day, a year or a lifetime, but nothing beats knowing that you have the capacity to care. Sure, you’ll probably get your heart broken. So it’s a good thing that the heart is a muscle with some regenerative ability and not a delicate crystal bird hidden in a cage made of unicorn breath. That being said, I will also have to admit that it isn't easy. I don't know if I'll ever be able to really feel like that again (although I would like to). But whether I eventually do or not, it's nice to know that I once did. And it was worth it.
- It’s OK to make mistakes once in a while. You don’t need to have the perfect GPA, the perfect job or the perfect relationship. Perfection is fleeting, but perseverance and resilience? Those stick around. (Heh. Word play ftw! )
- Don’t let anyone kid you- your past WILL influence your future. But the good thing is that you get to decide how.
- When in doubt, pee. You will rarely regret it.
- Faith, like love or patience, is not a fragile piece of glass or a well that can be emptied. It’s a muscle. So make like Britney and work... bitch.
- Gratitude. It helps. Sometimes when I’m really bummed out, like ‘it’s 2 am and I’m completely out of chocolate’ bummed out, I like to sit down and make a list of things I’m thankful for. Sometimes it’s barely half a page long and sometimes it goes on for pages and pages. I always, always feel better afterwards.
- It also helps to have a sense of humour. I don’t always, but I have found that the cringe-worthy times I was able to laugh at myself are the times I don’t mind remembering.
- There is a fine line between taking yourself too seriously and taking yourself for granted. When you figure it out, call me. I may need a workshop or something. Seriously.
- And lastly, family comes first (Hah! Word play part deux!) No one will stand up for your or stick around like your ‘famille’, so cherish them. Plus they often come with cake. And everyone knows- Cake gooood.
