Positive People

"Get rid of the negative people in your life - surround yourself with positive people who believe in you and inspire you."

"Surround yourself only with people who are going to take you higher."

This may sound like a no-brainer to a lot of people, but I think in actuality, most people don't realize where the root of their negativity comes from. I'm a prime example of this. For countless months I found myself barely getting through my day and only by doing the bare minimum. I didn't feel like trying, or working, or thinking. Looking back on this, I was probably in a complete daze for most of the time. I wasn't eating right, I stopped working out, and just felt outright alone and miserable.

It's amazing how a few changes and a positive sequence of events can really change how you go through life. Go to a few posts back where I talked about the glass being half full or half empty. It sounds so cliched but it's true. Good things have started to happen to some of my closest friends which has changed their attitudes. Life changes quickly, whether it's for the best or worst. Many things you can't control. But jeopardizing the relationships to those who are closest to you or damaging new ones before they really even have a chance to begin should not be a residual effect of life changes.  I still can't find a job, but I know it's only because times are still rough for a lot of businesses. I'm confident that I will find a perfect fit soon because I know what I have to offer in a career and I have lots of wonderful people supporting me with strong words of encouragement. It's little things like this that make me realize how fortunate I am-jobless or not.

“You can't stop loving or wanting to love because when its right, it's the best thing in the world. When you're in a relationship and it's good, even if nothing else in your life is right, you feel like your whole world is complete.”

Be sure to thank the positive people in your life. Chances are they're doing more for you than you realize. I know that mine are.

♥

For All Daddies...Especially Mine

Today's entry was an easy choice for me. There is nothing else I'd rather write about today than my wonderfully awesome daddy. My dad and I have become partners in crime. Whether it be some sort of culinary adventure, trying new beers at some dive bar, or working on our photography, there is never a shortage of fun or laughs. I am a total daddy's girl. Since day one, my dad has been the uber protective "Emily, remember boys lie," and "where's the rest of that skirt, young lady?" kind of dad. He's been my role model, my inspiration, my protector, and my shoulder to cry on. He still refers to me as "his little baby girl" which can be both endearing and annoying. He hates that I'm growing up and he especially hates the thought of having another guy take care of me; or as he might see it "replace him." To the point where watching Father of the Bride makes him teary eyed and he threatens to put me in a convent. Yes, a convent. I remember conversations where I would start with "When I get married one day..." That's when my dad interrupts me with "There are no weddings in the convent." But I digress. My dad should know by now that he is 100% irreplaceable to me. I always said my two main men are my dad and my brother because they have been and always will be there for me. The person I marry one day (I'm not going to a convent) has some pretty big shoes to fill. I can only hope for a man and father for my maybe-one-day children to be even half as amazing as my dad is. I look forward to maybe one day adding "amazing grandfather" to the ever growing list of my dad's wonderful attributes. So with that said, here's to my daddy and amazing daddy's everywhere:

Here's to the fathers, who always begin,
on the outside of children, but looking in.
Such curious men snapping cameras like mad,
recording the moment, they turn into "Dad."

Here's to the fathers, who put in their time,
who don't say to mothers 'that's your job, not mine'.
Who wipe chins and noses and never say "won't"
who do with the diapers, what some fathers don't.

And as the child grows, they grow with it too,
learning a depth that they never knew.
And soon they are older, their hair slightly gone,
chasing two children around the front lawn.

Or car-pooling teams to Little League games,
buying them hamburgers after it rains.
They mend broken dolls and fix broken wheels,
they cringe when their daughters, try their first pair of heels.

They reach in their pockets, but never keep count,
they pay dear for parenthood, in awful amounts
They postpone their plans to sail across seas,
instead they sing "Barney" and bandage skinned knees.

Here's to the fathers who get off the phone,
to hear their sons practice their new saxophone
Who leave work to see their daughter's recital
Here's to the heroes, who work without title.

So here's to the fathers who won't compromise
who see a light shining in their children's eyes
And feel a rare glow as if from a gem
and know that once someone saw this glow in them.

For all the good boys they have raised in the world
for all the examples they set for their girls
For all the loved children whose stories they'll tell
Here's to the father's that taught them so well.

Happy Father's Day!

♥

More words of encouragement

So here I am already skipping several consecutive days of blogging (shame on me). I should probably change my blog subtitle to "A whenever I feel like writing" blog. I'm sure once my life becomes more interesting, I'll have more valuable things to write about. I skipped the next day after my first post because I had a lot of news and didn't want to jinx myself. But since it has passed, I guess I can discuss it now.

Big news, I had a major job interview on Tuesday for a fantastic company and an amazing opportunity. It went well considering it was a panel interview in front of three men. It is an incredibly competitive position, so I am most definitely not getting my hopes up about getting that job. But after having dinner with my dad tonight over pizza and an entire bottle of Merlot, I had some sort of mini epiphany. For those of you who empathize with my current life situation you should pay attention from this point on...

I have found myself viewing my life in a "glass half empty" sort of perspective. After talking to my dad, I realized I really should start to shape my life around the good things that I do have. I am a good daughter, sister, best friend. I am smart, and determined, and confident in what I am capable of accomplishing. Just because I'm having trouble finding a job, does not mean that I am not good enough- it means that I haven't found that perfect fit for me. I have now taken it upon myself to expand my horizons, especially in the sense of my career path. I can't let my fears keep me from finding an amazing job because when it comes down to it, it's up to me to make an excellent career for myself. I neglected to read a book that my mom's best friend gave me for my birthday one year. I opened it today. It's called Half Full: Meditations on Hope, Optimism, and the Things that Matter. This is just from one page that really touched me.

"Here it is , in a nutshell. We all have a choice. See the world how you want. There are tons of opportunities and heaps of difficulties in everyone's life. This is unchangeable and real given. So here's where your wonderful perspective comes in. See a possibility- a new job path, a blooming relationship- and what happens? Do you immediately immerse yourself in thoughts of what could go wrong? Do you rein in your desires because you're afraid of getting hurt?

Now look at the difficulties- face them head-on. What do you see? Toil and frustration without compensation? Or can you see steps, even painful ones, on the path to a goal? Things worth accomplishing are difficult, and the course of true love never did run smooth. No news here. So why not take another look and see the opportunities hiding in the cracks of every difficulty, and acknowledge the difficulties inherent in any opportunity?"

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." -Winston Churchill

♥

Welcome to my blog!

Let me start out by saying that I began this blog about 2 months ago. I thought way too hard about a creative title, a sub title, and a link. Alas, after all this thought, I couldn't think of anything to say. I revisited my empty page several times hoping for an epiphany where I could release any and every thought I had (no matter how boring it was). I still had nothing. I found myself going to my friend Kat's blog regularly to see what she was writing about. I think her life is much more interesting than mine, because I find that my life is in one giant limbo. Here I am, a recent college grad looking for a full-time job, where I spend my days being single, playing with my dog or cooking-while just about everyone else I know is working, getting engaged, or is already married. *Sigh* I'm too young for this to be happening already.

So after thinking for quite a bit, I thought maybe the absence of interest in my life could benefit me in this blog. I have decided not to look at it as me writing about the confusion that is my life, but rather a way for me to look back on these days and see how far I have come. I'm hoping to write as frequently as Kat, but I can't promise anything at this point. My blog will probably start with a boring synopsis of my day and my latest cooking/baking discovery-although I'm hoping for more interesting entries. I'll leave you for now with what prompted this first entry (and hopefully the start of many). After cleaning my room today, I stumbled across a birthday card given to me on my 21st birthday by my parents. I found the words extremely comforting given where I am in my life right now. So if anyone who reads this can empathize, I encourage you to read the following:
A Beautiful Life

Love yourself, make peace with who you are, and where you are at this moment in time. Listen to your heart. If you can't hear what it's saying in this noisy world, make time for yourself. Enjoy your own company. Let your mind wander among the stars. Try. Take chances. Make mistakes. Life can be messy and confusing at times, but it's also full of surprises. The next rock in your path might be a stepping-stone. Be happy. When you don't have what you want, want what you have. Make do. That's a well-kept secret of contentment. There aren't many shortcuts to tomorrow. You have to make your own way. To know where you're going is only part of it. You need to know where you've been, too. And if you ever get lost, don't worry. The people who love you will find you. Count on it. Life isn't days and years. It's what you do with time and with all the goodness and grace that's inside you. Make a beautiful life...the kind of life you deserve.

So here it is. My start of my blog mid-epiphany. I chose to change the domain of my blog to "a sense of serendipity" for three reasons. First, it's my favorite word. I am a fan of irony, and to me there is nothing more ironic than "a fortunate accident." Two, it's become my favorite movie. Partly because of the name and meaning, but I'm a total sucker for movies that turn out like a fairytale. And three, I think my life could use a little serendipity-good luck in the making and unexpected discoveries.

♥