Peace

I've changed so much this year.  I look through old blog posts, and some of them seem like they were written by a stranger who was very, VERY concerned with her inability to decide what to study in college.

If I could have given a graduation speech to my 18-year-old self, this is what I would have said:

You will never feel ready.

You never get to this place where all of a sudden it dawns on you that you're ready to be married or choose a career.  No lightbulb goes off.  You don't suddenly think, "Ah! I have reached a place of maturity that signifies that I am ready to date!" and go out and find someone ASAP.  There does not come a day when you officially feel like an adult. It won't happen.

What will happen, however, is that when you hit a wall and have to truly decide - not in theory, but in reality - you will realize very quickly whether you're ready or not.  When Craig came into my life, I though I was still not ready to be dating, but it turned out I was ready to date Craig.  You can't make generalized decisions about things before their time.  Because when you get right down to it, there will always be things you didn't foresee.  Life truly has to be taken one day at a time. You have to trust le bon Dieu to take care of you, and not give you choices you can't make.

The only way to find out if you like something is to try.

(I still have trouble following this.)  If you think you really want to do something, you can't just sit around waiting for opportunities to fall into your lap.  Break down the goal into steps.  What can you do now to take a step towards your goal?  Do it.  And if you find you don't like it, make a new goal.

Don't defer happiness.

If you are not enjoying your life, you need to re-evaluate.  If the journey you are on is one that isn't at least a little bit fun, then what is the point?  Deferring happiness, slogging through acres of unpleasantness while telling yourself someday it will all pay off and everything will be perfect, is also known as wasting your life.  Because it won't be perfect.  Nothing ever is.  So you ought to snatch the happiness you can have now.  Enjoy your work! Cherish your relationships! Don't waste time in self-loathing or depression. Seize the day! Make your life extraordinary.

There's punch and cookies in the lobby for everyone.  Thanks for listening.