New Beginnings

My, my. It's been a while since I've done this.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want in life, lately. The things I thought I would have accomplished by the time I was twenty-five. Where I'd be. What I'd be doing. Who I'd be doing them with. And although the initial onset of realizing that none of those things have happened yet was terrifying and discouraging, the more I consider it and begin to plan projects for myself, the more I start to see the opportunity that is in front of me and the freedom that I have to continue to build and change and create a life for myself that I love. 

There are things that have happened over the last two years in particular, whether through thoughtful decisions or short-sighted leaps or uncontrollable circumstances, that have certainly felt anywhere from inconvenient to insurmountable changes in the path that I thought I was on. I never thought I would regret a career change that I have invested so much thought and planning into. I never thought I would go a week without reading, let alone countless months.  I never thought I would stop prioritizing things I love to do. I never thought my mom wouldn't be here for my twenty-fifth birthday.

But I suppose that's just life, isn't it? It's life's job to throw curve balls at you and change things up constantly. And it's your job to learn to become more agile and to move with the current, but all the while not giving up on the things you believe in and the commitments you make to yourself. You may need to change them to work with new circumstances, but you don't throw them out the window completely.

So I'm working on picking up the things I put down long ago. Planning out projects that motivate me, get me learning, and that I'm passionate about. Re-prioritizing plans and remembering that the commitments that I make to myself are just as important as the ones I make to anyone else. And just like stretching out your muscles for that first jog after a long winter indoors sipping hot chocolate by the fire (or furnace) in baggy sweaters that may or may not be both for warmth and to cover up the many holiday feasts and treats you've enjoyed, I suppose you just need to start slow, be persistent, and remember to not give up.