Continuing Education

For some people, Life Post-Grad can start to seem like a constant battle between: "Should I go back to school, or not?"

I've already been there once. I got as far as getting accepted to a school and signing up for orientation. But, i didn't actually go to orientation, or the first day of classes for that matter.

Continuing education is something that I think everyone thinks about at least once in their life when they get it going. I've considered a second bachelors as well as a masters.

And now, I find myself here again. I want my masters degree. And this time, I intend to follow through. So, I've developed a plan:

Continue to work in my current position with my current company for several years. During those several years (maybe at the 2 year mark?) get started on grad school. I'll go for an online degree program to get my Masters in Public Administration. I'll give myself 3 to 4 years to complete this while continuing in my current role. Once I've obtained my MPA, I will work toward advancing my career in the non-profit industry.

That's the plan. It's very general, for now. We'll see how it grows and changes as time goes by and life entangles me.

Feeling excited :)

Emotionally Charged.

I haven't been writing lately.

I've been keeping busy.

It's strange, because I really like to write, but I seem to do it most when either, something is wrong, or I'm sad/angry/unhappy. -- I mean that makes sense, because writing makes me feel better. But even though it's something I enjoy, I don't seem to have time for it when I'm happy.

I've been happy lately. Busy with my life. Getting really involves in work, spending time with my friends, trying new things, being spontaneous, meeting new people... And, I've just been really happy. Like I haven't been noticing life go by because I've just been living it. It's amazing.

I decided to sit down and write today for 2 reasons:

1. I haven't done it in a while and I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Even though I've been distracted by life, I still at least think about writing.

2. I had an emotionally charged morning. And that's really why, after all the time I've spent thinking about writing, I'm actually sitting down to do it.

Stress is hard for me to deal with. I woke up this morning to a boat load of stress. Mainly work related. When I'm stressed, it helps for me to take a step back and focus on something that's not related to it for a while before I face whats causing the stress. Hence the blog post.

But that's not all. On top of all the stress I was served for breakfast, I got sucked into some personal and emotional stress too. It kind of threw me over the edge and sent me into a tizzy. So, I had a good cry and just let it all out. Now, I'm taking a deep breath, I'm writing about it (vaguely) and then, I will get on with my day.

I'm getting better at my stress management. It helps to have a good support system, a happy life with much to appreciate, and a sound mind. I try to put things into perspective so that I spend less time stressing about whatever it is, and more time working toward solutions. Here's to continually moving forward.

Today I'm thankful for perspective. Perspective will help me find a good vantage point to work from :)

Feeling Amazed.

I know I write about dreams a lot, but they just really, truly amaze me. Our subconscious knows all. If you listen closely to your dreams and figure out what it is your subconscious is trying to tell you, sometimes you can really make a difference in your life.

Over the past few weeks, I kept having a lot of similar dreams that all left me feeling really crappy when I woke up in the mornings. With each dream, it got worse and worse. I was pretty sure I knew what my dreams were telling me, but I ignored them. My conscious self did not want to accept what my subconscious self was telling me. What was best for me.

Finally, after one last dream that really affected me so much, I had to do it. I had to do what my subconscious wanted me to do. So I did.

This morning, I woke up feeling so refreshed, and renewed. My dreams last night didn't make much sense to me, but I looked up some of the symbols, and I couldn't believe it. My subconscious was basically telling me I did the right thing.

The symbols in my dreams had meanings like: New attitude and fresh beginnings; Potential to grow; Healing; Letting go and releasing emotions/negative feelings; Revitalization, regeneration and renewal.

My conscious self is still not completely accepting of the change I had to make, but, I know that it was the right thing to do. It was in my best interest, and now, I can get out of the fog I've been falling into and move forward into clarity.

Interpret your dreams people. Its really, super cool. Freud was on to something there.

Goodbye Old, Hello New

I moved out of my apartment in Tampa today and returned the keys. I officially no longer live there. It was really bitter sweet.

I had to acknowledge that I was saying goodbye to the town that had been my home for the last 6 years. All 6 years of my "adult" life. It's still hard to imagine life anywhere else even though I've been living it for the past four months. I'm glad though, and I'm excited. It was time for the change, time for the growth, and time for the end of that chapter of my life. Things here in my new life are all so good, and so promising. I'm excited to see what lies ahead.

To all my Tampa loves, I will miss you dearly. You have all been an amazing part of my life and I hope you continue to be. I will certainly see you again through visits, social media, and just keeping in touch. I'm saying goodbye to my once home, but not to all the amazing things it brought me.

FML

I'm going to try and remain as positive as possible for this post. But it's going to be pretty difficult. Things can always be worse.

So, I mentioned a few posts ago that I was in a car accident that totaled my car. To sum it up: no injuries, I had insurance, and I was able to get a new car out of the deal.

The car buying process was grueling. But I finally did it. I bought a car I truly loved. I am so happy with it.

I've had my brand new car a whole 3 days now. 3 days of driving bliss, feeling so happy and accomplished in my new baby. Her name is The Baby Beast, by the way. TBB for short.

Today at Publix. In the parking lot. Someone backed into me. And now my brand new car is dented. As you can imagine, I'm not very happy about this... Poor TBB.

My car still runs. I'm not hurt. The damaged can be fixed through insurance. Positive, it's not that bad, blah blah blah.

But I'm still pretty upset. I can't help it. I'm trying to look at the bright side of things. But this really just sucks. Who buys a car and barely has it three days before getting hit and essentially ruining the car!? And even more so, after I was just in an accident!

I have been driving so safe and being so careful. I checked twice before backing out of my spot at publix today. I had a bad feeling for some reason. But there were no break lights on behind me. And no one was coming up the isle. So I went. Then I put my car in drive. Just as I was ready to drive off. Crunch! Crash! Bang! I was hit. My life was over (or so the drama queen in me beleived at the moment).

But, I'm keeping my cool. My car will be fixed. And it will be good as new. Plus, the girl who hit me is an organ donor.

Sigh. FML

Change can be hard, but it can also be pretty amazing.

One of the coolest things about growing up, I think, is getting together with an old friend, someone you've spent some time growing up with, and just talking about it. Talking about getting older. About maturing. About new insights, new plans, new goals. Talking about how you've changed. Getting to know each other in an entirely new way. As adults. Its a pretty cool thing if you ask me.

As we get older, obviously, we change. We become different people. Of course we're always the same person, but we do go through so many changes, that sometimes, you think back on past things and you're like: "I can't believe I ever did that!"

Its fun to reminisce on what was, and talk about what is now, and whats to come. That's one of the great things about this time in a young persons life. There is still so much to come. Whether it's life after college, life before college, life between college, life without having gone to college -- whatever. This is the time in your life where you learn and you grow and you become. You can make it or break it. Or even just do nothing. Just coast. You are building the foundation for your life.

You plan for your future. Sometimes those plans change as things play out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they might not be exactly what you pictured, but maybe they're better. Maybe it's something you couldn't have imagined. And that's another of the fun parts. Seeing how it plays out, and enjoying it as you go through it.

So, Have fun, let loose, enjoy your youth. But also, work hard, dream big, be ambitious, make your life what you want it. Or even just discover what you want. It's all part of the ride.

And get together with your friends and have a heart to heart. Rediscover eachother. Learn about eachothers dreams and aspirations. Observe how they've changed. Who they are vs who they used to be. It's a really phenomenal experience. I think.

Today I'm grateful for change. Without it, life would not move forward.

First World Problems - The Joys of Buying a Car.

My mom has been helping me out a lot lately. She's pretty great. I'm so grateful for her.

The latest challenge she has taken on with me has been car shopping. OhMyGod I. Hate. It.

It's so exhausting and such a hard decision. This car? Or that car? Which one is better? And the sales people are so pushy. Like seriously. Leave me alone for 5 minutes. You're not making me want to buy the car more by doing that. You're making me want to punch you in the face! And then there's the whole money factor.

1. You have to go into debt to buy a car (unless you're loaded). Boo.

2. If it's your first time buying a car (which for me it is) you have to factor in that new, big fat payment. That means either get something shitty you don't want so you can still afford to have a life, or, get what you want and eat ramen noodles every night until your debt is paid off... Regardless, it means cutting back. Boo.

3. Financing. Boo, boo, boo. If you're like me and you don't really have too much credit established, you're basically shit-out-of-luck. Boo.

So, to sum up. Buying a new car sucks.

I'm going for what I want, so I plan to be broke for quite some time... That is, if I can ever manage to get one.

I'll be glad when this whole experience is over.

Advise - Don't get in car accidents that total your car which worked perfectly fine and was free. Oops.