Some Things You May Not Know About Me

Facebook recently had a game going around.  I'm not one to play these sorts of things, but this one seemed fun.  If you "liked" a friend's status who was also playing the game, the friend gave you a number and you had to post a status with the respective amount of things people may not know about you, and then challenge your friends to like your status, thus keeping the game going.

I am not one to share my life story with people.  Plus, if a person is friends with me on Facebook, I assume they know the most important things about me such as the fact that I own horses, cats, and a dog; that I have graduated college; that I haven't found a job I'm passionate about yet; etc.  In fact, social media sites frustrate me because of how much people tend to over share about their lives.  I had quite a bit of fun with this game and put a lot of thought into the things I wanted to share with people that I do not talk to on a regular basis.  If a person really wanted to know a lot about me, they could look through my blog.  I think it's an accurate representation of who I am, but obviously I'm biased.

The number I got in this game was 7.  Here's a list of the 7 things I posted on Facebook:

1. I started school with the intentions of becoming a vet, but I didn't get along with Chemistry.
2. I still have no idea what I'm doing with my life, but I can't wait to figure it out.
3. I find the most joy in spending money on experiences versus material possessions.
4. I keep a gratitude journal.
5. When I was in 6th grade I was attacked by my neighbor's dog, but it hasn't had an impact on my love for animals.
6. Most days I contemplate buying a one-way ticket to Europe and not coming home until I get my life figured out.
7. I try not to update my FB status more than once a week because I think it is excessive.

After I posted the status I immediately thought about how I could have been so much more creative or shared way more exciting things.  So, I resort to my blog, naturally.  Here's a list of other things you may not know about me:

1. I have a goal to visit every National Park in the United Sates as well as every State Park in Wisconsin.
2. I absolutely adore my boyfriend.
3. I fantasize about a life in which I can eat chocolate, ice cream, cookies, and candy for every meal of every single day and have zero consequences for it.
4. I think I would enjoy being a stand-up comedian, except I'm not funny.
5. I used to be the world's biggest pessimist, but now I consider myself an optimist.  The movie "The Secret", the book "5 Wishes", and my Positive Psychology course I took in college each changed my life because they all changed the way in which I view the world, problems, people, tragedies, and daily situations.
6. Sincere appreciation is one of the best life skills a person can develop, and I always make it a point to not only tell people how much I appreciate them, but show them as well.
7. I am good at remembering names.
8. I'm oddly good at remembering dates.
9. I'm exactly 50% like my mother and 50% like my father.  It is kind of creepy at times.
10. I want to adopt as many animals as possible throughout my life.
11. I don't like to play life by the rules or go along with society's standards/expectations.
12. I wish I never gave up drawing
13. I want to take a picture that makes the world stop.

Life Lately

I'm happy.

Ya know what's crazy about that sentence?  It took me years to be able to say it and genuinely mean it.  But, seriously, I am though.  I love the life I've created post-college.  Is it what I thought I'd be doing?  No, it's definitely not.  However, I am confident that I am exactly where I need to be.  I've learned the happiness is wanting what you have.  And I want what I have.

I'm sad.

Losing my horse this July has been the most horrible thing I've ever experienced.  And I just feel like no one understands and no one cares.  I get tired of putting on a happy face for people, and tired of telling people "I'm fine" when really I just want cry and be upset.  I wish people did a better job at acknowledging hardships for people.  I hate feeling like I'm not supposed to talk about it because I don't want to make other people feel uncomfortable.  Can everyone just stop for a second and think about how backward that is?  Ok, thanks.  It is.  Why are people so uncomfortable with sadness, silence, and not knowing what to say?  The worst thing a person can do is not say anything.

I'm agitated.

I suffer greatly from wanderlust.  I am constantly looking at places to visit, wondering when my next adventure will be, and question if I'm not traveling enough.  I don't ever want to look back at this period of my life and be angry that I didn't take more advantage of the fact that I did not have much tying me down.  And I want to have stories to tell people when I'm older.  Don't ask me why I even think about stuff like that, but my mind goes one million miles an hour and these are the thoughts that cross my mind.  I look at my daily life and although I literally just said "I know I am exactly where I need to be," I can't help but think I'm holding myself back.  I feel very agitated by these thoughts.

I'm content.

As previously mentioned, I want the life I have right now.  Yes, there are days that I don't like what I'm doing or I wish I could just take a day off to enjoy the weather or do something spontaneous.  Adulthood involves a lot of responsibility, and most days I want to quit.  As my mom said, "Emily, once you are an adult, it's not something you can quit."  I did not think I'd be 25, graduated, waitressing, and doing nothing with my degree...but I'm content because I'm making enough money to pay the bills and have some fun on the side.  I hope that I figure out what my calling is soon, but until then I'm content most days.

I'm amazed by how time flies.

Seriously, it's like I turn around and it's Friday again.  Another month has passed.  How does time go so fast?  I feel like I have no time to do anything some weeks.  Before I turned 21 my Grandma told me that once I turned 21 my birthday's would come faster and faster.  She wasn't lying.  The older I get the faster I feel life goes.  I wish I had the power to push pause to enjoy certain moments more or the ability to freeze time.  I am a person who is very aware of time; it is something I think of quite often.  I think it is because I'm a goal-setter and always having something new to accomplish. When July rolled around this summer, I couldn't believe that I had been home from New Zealand for a year already.  And now I've already been a college graduate for 6 months.  It just is hard to wrap my head around.  I'm trying not to blink, but some days I feel like life is just passing me by.

I'm thankful.

Despite all of the emotions I am feeling and realities I am facing, I am thankful.  I recently began keeping a gratitude journal and it's helped me keep my life into perspective.  Every day I take the time to reflect and I have realized there is something to always be thankful for.  I have so much more than most 25-year old women.  I have a roof over my head, a comfy bed, food on the table for every meal, clothes to wear for any occasion, two awesome horses, family pets I adore, an awesome boyfriend, a job, and air to breathe.  See, it's hard to not be thankful when I have so much to be thankful for.