The Quarter of a Century Mark

There's something about turning 25 that has forced me to slow down for a moment and evaluate my life. Somewhere in my childhood, I had this vision for who I'd be and what I'd have done (and being doing) at this mark in my life. And now I feel as though I haven't lived up to that standard. Then I got to thinking, maybe my standard was off. After all, how can a child understand the complexities of life - that often force us to change our plans, our courses, even sometimes our very esscence. So I decided to sit down a write a list of my "achievements" up to this point. When I finished the list, I realized I'd put a lot of living into my life up to this point, and that is all that matters to me.

Things I've done:

learned to talk
learned to walk
learned to read
learned to write
graduated high school
decided to leave the "safe" small town for the "big city" and my chance at graduating from my dream school
graduated from my "Dream school".....with high honors
moved from the "big city" back to a small town because it was where my heart was leading me
turned down a big scholarship to law school, because it wasn't my dream but someone elses
earned my Master's degree
fell in love with the idea of being in love
fell out of love with the idea of love
fell in love for the wrong reasons, fell out of love for the right ones
met a great man and fell in love for the right reasons
flew on an airplane for the first time
made wonderful friends, and even better memories
learned that I'm not pefect, but pretty darn close --- and that I love me just the way I am