Monday, 25 June 2012

Quest for Happiness [Day 25]

--> This week marks SIX years since I graduated high school. It often feels like more than six years has passed and other times it feels like just yesterday. I am now closer to my ten year reunion than I am to the date I graduated. That is a crazy thought.. I am getting so old!

To commemorate this week I've dug out some pictures from my Prom and Graduation. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I loved Prom. I took it way too seriously, my friends called me “Promzilla” in the months leading up to the big day. 

Looking at these pictures and others from around the same time I can actually see how much I've grown and how far I've come since the day I crossed the stage at the local auditorium.

My plan graduating high school was to take the quickest route to becoming a certified teacher, while spending every summer working at Tim Hortons Camp. If I had followed that plan I would have graduated in 2010 with my Bachelor of Education and hopefully already be teaching.
As you all know by now that is not what came to be. Since deciding teaching wasn't the path I wanted to take I have run through a huge list of potential careers, History Professor, Museum Curator, Journalist, Social Worker, I could go on.

Several jobs and experiences later I am certain of one thing: I want to work with kids and young adults in some capacity. It comes naturally to me and is absolutely what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I also have developed a much greater appreciation for what is important to me, and for who I want to become. I am finally starting to feel comfortable with who I am, stressing less, and learning to trust my gut more.

All that being said it is sometimes hard not to feel like I haven't accomplished enough since graduating. I have friends that have traveled the world, done amazing volunteer work, started careers, bought houses and so much more. In comparison I feel like I've somehow failed to do as much with my life as I could.
These are thoughts I struggled with for a while, but I am quickly realizing that success is not something that can be judged by comparing my life to anyone else. I am working hard to set goals for my own life and to judge my success based on how I live up to those. It is a challenge sometimes though, it is difficult not to want what others have when it is something you also eventually want.

Life is full of challenges, and changes and it doesn't always turn out how you expect, but that doesn't diminish how wonderful it is. I may be far from where I expected to be when I crossed the stage in 2006, but I have so much happiness and love in my life that it doesn't matter that things have turned out differently.

If you dwell on what could have been or what someone else is doing it will be hard to find joy in your own life. Instead celebrate the accomplishments of friends and loved ones, and of course yours as well. Whether it's something you've dreamed of for years, or an unexpected surprise take pride in your accomplishments and live in the moment.

Keep Smiling :)

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