Happiness Is A Choice (Shit Is Everywhere)

So over the course of the past year and a half or so, I've had plenty of time and plenty of experiences that have taught me something quite important. That something is that happiness is, in fact, a choice.

Sure, life throws you curveballs. Life could be compared to a monkey at the zoo, throwing literal shit this way and that way, not caring who it hits. Sometimes, you get hit a lot. Sometimes, you don't. I don't mean to brag folks, but I have come to believe that I am a monkey shit magnet. But guess what? I learned to deal with it. I took my metaphorical hose and washed myself off, and started over. And sure, my monkeys occasionally hit me with the usual, but I deal with it. I have learned to be happy even through all of the monkey shit, the horse shit, and the bull shit.
I feel like a lot of you haven't.
But moreover, I feel like a lot of you simply haven't learned to accept reality for what it is.
I feel like a lot of people that I know have recently gone absolutely batshit crazy. Crazy how? One word for you guys:
Denial.
Denial of personal responsibility, denial of failure, denial of reality. It might be a very nice, lovely river (ha), but denial is not somewhere that I would want to live. It's such a detrimental state of being, you simply tear yourself apart by living there.

I feel like a lot of you have simply  forgotten how to live.

One friend in particular comes to mind. She feels like she can't be happy without someone in her life, and that makes me sad for her. Number one, because she deserves to be treated better than he has treated her, and number two, because no one should ever feel like their happiness relies solely on one person.

Happiness does not come solely from another person. Yes, you may be happy around a certain person. But other things also bring you joy. Personally, having time to read brings me joy. I read like crazy in the summer. Also, music. And family. And friends. And conversations with Aaron. And knowing that the future starts every second. You can change your future in a single second from a single decision. That decision is to be happy.
It's easier said than done, I won't lie to you there. It's definitely not an easy task at first, but like anything else that you have to fight for, it becomes easier as you continue, and it is extremely worth it in the end.
In the past year and a half, I have had plenty of things happen to me that could have emotionally crippled me. Hell, over the course of my life, I've had enough things happen to me to emotionally cripple me. But yet, I'm happy. I am content. I am thankful. And most importantly, I am alive.
Not alive just as in the living-breathing-vitals alive. Alive as in the enjoying myself, enjoying others, and finding joy in other people's happiness/accomplishments alive. I can see someone's hard work pay off and feel genuine happiness for them. I can see my hard work pay off and feel good about it as well.
No, not everything is perfect. But most everything can be viewed in a better light:

I have medical bills from when I "broke" my wrist....at least I have insurance that covers a decent amount of it.
I have to pay my Grandmother back for getting my brakes fixed on my car...I am thankful that I have a car, and that I have family that cares about me and my personal safety in said car.
My hours haven't been stellar at work...at least I have a job in this bad economy. Some people don't have that.
My parents kicked me out...I am thankful that I have family and friends that put roofs over my head when I needed it most, and that I have been able to settle in elsewhere.
I have finals this week...I have the opportunity for education.

It's hard to forget what we do have when our own personal bratty monkeys start throwing shit around. But having those monkeys means that you're living life, and living life means that you're alive.
So take a moment to reflect on what you do have in life that makes you happy. Don't waste so much time thinking about how much happier you could be with things that you don't have. Make the best of everything, and be happy with your life, as is. No one else can can decide to make you happy. Only you can. So make a choice to be happy with your life, no matter the state of it. Chances are, things will start to look a whole hell of a lot better very quickly. I have a lot of things that make me as happy as I am, and I recognize them. Do you recognize yours?

Calm Life, Happy Heart

Alrighty, folks. After a much needed hiatus from the interwebs, I am back. All of my projects are done and submitted; all that's left is finals for school, then I go back to normal life. Well, normal for me anyways ;)

Not a whole lot has changed for me the last few weeks. Work hours are still super awful. Granted, I managed to get a whole 8 hour shift to myself this Saturday, but there are no new developments in my career path. I applied and got an interview to Olive Garden. It went really well, and the lady I interviewed with told me to set up a second interview, that they'd call me soon. That was Tuesday. I called Friday since I hadn't heard from them, but the woman I needed to speak with was in an interview, so I didn't get a chance to speak to her. I left a message, but it's been a week, so I'm assuming that they just don't care enough to call back, which sucks. But, oh well. No loss, just no gain, either.

I've started getting my medical bills for my wrist, and luckily I can set up payment plans for them. There's no way I'd be able to shell out about $800 in a lump sum. Especially with my other bills, and my insurance coming up soon.

Ew. Let's not think about that.

Over the course of the past few weeks, I've done some new things. Here they are!
I went out to the state park and took my best friend's senior pictures. This one was the overall best one, though there were a decent amount of good ones, considering it was just a few teenagers using a 16 megapixel Fuji camera:

I went to Aaron's band concert for the college. It wasn't what they wanted, but it wasn't bad by any means. And look at how spiffy these fine young percussionists look! Totally worth it :)

 I also went to Aaron's office dinner. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (there is a certain coworker of his that has a large distaste for me...mainly because she's in stalker love with him).


I had people over at the house. I know that sounds simple to you, but believe me, it isn't. My house is tiny, and Gma doesn't like people over, so it never happens. Especially not until 2am. I don't have picture evidence, but I do have a broken chair... and before you think that things got crazy, they honestly didn't. Chelsea broke it on the carpet by scooting back too hard, and the leg snapped. We "fixed" it with wood glue overnight. We'll see how that goes.
We played games and sat around. Really low key, good night. And an even better morning, but that's another story.

I also finished my stupid coil pot in Ceramics, and brought home all of my bowls and such. After Monday, I am going to be so incredibly happy that that class is over. You have no idea.

Well, I don't have a whole lot to say, since nothing super new or interesting has happened yet. There should be plenty of interesting things to tell you about coming up, though :) Making plenty of plans to keep my summer going! Mostly with Aaron, and those are the ones I like the most so far.
Life's going good. I hope you can say the same :)