Friday, September 9, 2011

I set fire to the rain..

Well, needless to say, there have been some updates to my life in the past month. The first one being that Ryan and I broke up and even though I am the one that made the final decision to break up, I'm 100% sure it was a mutual decision. I don't have anything negative to say about him. It just wasn't meant to be. My life has definitely been a lot quieter lately, but there are some lessons to be learned in all of this and I am going to take them for what they're worth.

Lesson #1: Don't ever forget who you are. In the process of being in a relationship with someone who has 4 kids, I devoted so much time and effort into them and their lives that I completely forgot my own. I put a lot of my priorities on the back burner and never took the time to sit down and remember my own wants and needs. I will no longer do that.

Lesson #2: Don't ever make someone a priority if they only make you an option. I made the huge mistake of making someone a priority over my friends and family, spending all my time with him and his family I guess to prove that I was committed. I do believe that the person you love should come first, but I know now that it was too soon to start prioritizing.

Lesson #3: Your true friends will still be your friends no matter what. My friends have proven time and again throughout my life that they are genuinely true friends, but this time they have really come through to show their support. Friends that I have not seen in many months have checked on me to make sure that I am alright. These are true friends and I can only hope that I would display the same level of kindness and caring to them as they have for me.

Lesson #4: Your family will always be your family. I love my family with all of my being. Although I may not always show it, I do. And to have them stand by me through all the good times and bad, well.. that's just what families do and I am so very blessed to have mine, because they are the greatest.

Lesson #5: Don't let anyone make you feel like you aren't successful. I don't like to brag on my own accomplishments, therefore I hardly ever do. And I think other people tend to forget the fact that I am smart and I do know a thing or two about life and I have gone through graduate school. I will never again let someone treat me like I am not smart. Yes I will admit that I have had help to get to where I'm at today, who hasn't? But I have built this life by my own effort. I did the work to get through grad school. I got the job. And I have my own house and my own cars and I pay my own bills. I won't let anyone make me feel like I am not smart.

So those are the lessons I've learned through this experience. Everything happens for a reason. I can smile because I have good memories from it and now I've moved on. There is more waiting for me in this life and I'm ready to find out what that is.