Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Oh, It Will Be Fun

So, I talked about what started this new adventure. If you missed it, you can view it here Now, let me tell you what kind of things I want to do.

1. Take a self-defense class
    Because I just really want to know how to properly kick someone's butt if I need to.
2. Learn to cook
    Because honestly, I barely know how to boil water. I bought Cooking Basics for Dummies because     I can't afford cooking classes yet. ($15 over $70, come on, it was a no brainer)
3. Hike local places
    Because Georgia is full of beautiful places and I want to make it my home and I want to explore.
    (Like these places, Atlanta's Best Hiking Trails )
4. Hike the Grand Canyon
    Because of "How to be Single", just watch it.. you'll get it.
5. Learn to ride a bike
    Because I've always wanted to and I never learned as a kid
6. Learn Spanish
    Because it's the second most spoken language in the world.
7. Go to a wine tasting
    Because what else is the epitome of classy adulthood than going to a classy wine tasting?
8. Finish unfinished art
    Because I love to start artistic projects and then never finish them
9. Get another tattoo
   Because I'm limiting myself here... I want like 9.
10. Go skydiving
     Because what else is the epitome of  overcoming fear and living life on the edge?
11.Write and publish an Ebook
     Because it's the baby steps to publishing a real life book.
12. Learn calligraphy
     Because HAVE YOU SEEN ETSY?!
13. Go to Comic Con
    ...... Because, obviously, I'm a nerd.
14.Watch IMDb's top 250 movies
     Because culture, man.
15. Read, A LOT
     Because I own over 200 books and have barely made a dent in reading them.
16. Visit a lighthouse
      Honestly, this one is in memory of my mom.
17. Travel internationally alone
     Because I want to explore by myself.
18. Write letters to my future self
     I honestly don't know why I want to do this... I just saw it on a suggested list and figured I'd try          it.
19. Start taking art classes again
     Because I love art and I miss it and I work in an arts and crafts store, I need to put that to good use.
20. Start doing yoga
      Because yoga fascinates me.
21. Learn makeup techniques
     Because makeup is an art form that I wish to master.
22. Go on a road trip
     Because driving, good playlists, crappy food, and friends... what could be better?
23.Do a photo shoot
     Because photo shoots are fun and remind yourself how beautiful you are.
24. Take steps towards my nonprofit, Re
     Because dreams take practical steps for them to become true.
25. Read the whole Bible
    Because I have read so much of it but there is still so much to learn.

So why do I want to do any of this? Why now?  Because it's about time. There is so much living to be done. So much that for one reason or another, I have either ignored or put to the side for "later". But before I know it, later has come and gone. I have this one chance to be exactly where I am. With no significant other to think about. With no kids to take care of first. I have this time to do amazing things and it's about time that I take that opportunity.  I want to do and learn so much in this time like  learning:
-To be happy
-To be adventurous
-To be courageous
-To be holy
-To be loving
-To expand horizons
-To be focused
-To follow through
-To be independent
-To be strong
-To be healthy
-To love the heck out of this life
-To be satisfied
-To reach out
-To look within
-To simplify
-To be vibrant

To live this one life, to love it and make it fun. There is so much living to be done in the days to come.



Monday, October 17, 2016

Ain't It Fun, A Debut

Welcome, to a new blog. A different blog for a different time. Don't worry, I'll still write on my other one but a different feel, different time, different story to tell, has called for a different blog. So, introducing... Ain't It Fun.

Now to the story of the birth of this new blog:

I graduated college. By the skin of my teeth and with a lot of struggles, but I did it. YAY ME!

And then post-college life started.....

No one really tells you this because they're all so focused on the getting you graduated part, but the transition to post-college life is hard. You may not be getting married the week after graduation. You may not get the greatest entry level job before you even order your cap and gown. You may not be able to afford your own apartment on a part-time retail job.

Here's the truth:

IT. FREAKING. SUCKS.

Now, maybe it also sucks for the newlyweds who both got their start off dream jobs and the perfect cute apartment before graduation even happened....

but that's not where I am, so I can't speak for them, but I can speak for myself.

A lot of things happened in college, specifically my last year of college. A lot of hurts, a lot of mistakes, and a lot of things that I wish that I could change. But so is life, and I'm here in the aftermath of all of that. I'm not kidding when I say that I think that for two months, I cried until 4 am every night.

I was broken, and lonely, and grieving, and stuck, and so many things.

I did a lot to try to fix that, and none of it worked.

I binged Grey's Anatomy (also fed into the crying til 4am thing), cried until 4 am, I drank, I got a Tinder and an OKCupid and a Plenty of Fish, I applied to jobs out of the whazoo, I worked, I slept, I ate, and I cried randomly at 2pm. (I've done a lot of crying).

One night, I was hanging out with friends and I had a bit too much to drink... and by a bit, I mean way too much. I don't even know how it got there. One moment it was all fun and laughter and lots of pizza and the next moment it was sobbing and shaking and one of my friends making an attempt to calm me down.

And it wasn't about anything petty or small. I was sobbing about important things, things that I thought I had previously dealt with, but apparently I was wrong.

I spent the next morning in a fog,  Partially because, well, I was hungover. And partially because I didn't know where to go from there. I thought I was done with those issues. I thought I was moving on. I thought I was better, but clearly not.

So, I decided that some things had to change from where they were. I knew my attitude had to change. I knew some actions had to change. I knew circumstances had to change.  I mustered up the courage to change the things I could. I spent some time the day after the emotional fog thinking about the course of action I could take.

The main thing I did:  Made a giant monologue about the way I wanted to live my life. It was filled with gusto and passion and plans for the future.

Other things I did:
1. Listened to Ain't It Fun by Paramore over and over again because it accurately represented the way I had been feeling about the post-college life. (Thanks, Anna Gonzalez for reminding me about such a great song.) (Also, in case you couldn't guess, that song inspired the title of this blog)

2. Broke up with my Tinder guy. I had been talking to this guy on Tinder for two months. He was sweet and kind, and dare I say, perfect. But, I couldn't distinguish if my feelings for him were out of loneliness or because I actually liked him as a person. I knew that wasn't fair to him. I also knew that if things were going to actually change in my near future, I couldn't do so while attempting to figure out a relationship (whatever that relationship was going to look like) with someone new. It was with a lot of regret that I broke things off with him, but he graciously replied that he thought I was making a wise decision, that he wished me all the best, and that he wanted to hear where I ended up. His reply was so perfect that for two seconds afterward, I thought, "NEVERMIND, COME BACK. JUST KIDDING, I'M OK". But I knew it was something that I had to do, no matter how much it sucked.

3. Made a list of all the things that I wanted to do and who I wanted to become (which will be featured in another blog post).

4. Watched "How to Be Single" more than four times within a period of two days. Seriously, I love the journey of those characters and where I am in life made it extremely relatable. (I'm actually watching it right now as I edit posts).

5. Decided that I was no longer going to be someone who waited for life to happen to them but decided that I was going to take charge of the life I wanted to live, regardless of the actions of others.

And so comes about Ain't It Fun, a blog that will talk about the adventures that I will go about in this new phase of life and about this new person I'm trying to become. A blog about trying to make the most out of a transitional and unsettling phase of life. A blog about the parts of this life that aren't fun in the slightest but I'm trying to make it fun and about the moments that are genuinely fun. A blog about the path of life that I'm trying to travel to reach who I desire to be. So, welcome to a new adventure, I hope it's fun.