Things I Have Learned this Year

Today, while griping about the frustrations of this past year, my bff (no really) encouraged me to list the top three things I have learned this year. I'm not sure if these are the top three things I have learned, but they are the top three that came to mind.

1) Invest in cheese

As superfluous as this sounds, I am absolutely serious. Before this year, I had been content with kraft singles, jewel brand mozzarella and powdered Parmesan. No longer. The first week I moved in, my roommate Laura brought home a block of fresh Parmesan. The moment it touched my lips, I was a believer. Since then, I invest in fresh mozzarella balls, circles of brie and gouda of all shapes and sizes. Not only does it transform my meals, it is a really small way of feeling like I am taking care of myself and somehow, investing in myself.

2) There are times when it is ok to disregard the advice of my friends and family since I am the one who has to live with my decisions.

Yeah, this is a hard one for me. I love having options and hate making decisions. Too often I allow my friends and family to overly influence my decisions. At times, I forget that I'm the one who has to live with them so I need to consider them for myself.

3) I can't rule out options until I've first identified my fears and decided whether or not they are rational.

Another hard one for me. But, in order not to get permanently blocked by my fears, I have to consider all of my options. This year has felt like such a disaster... but it's forcing me to consider things I had never thought possible such as joining the military as an Arabic translator, and trying to find a way to join a PRT in Iraq. These things could be the very things I need to be considering but I've been trapped by my fear of not being in control.