This.

Last weekend, I was at the Darius Rucker concert when I had a little epiphany.

I was belting out the lyrics to "This" and came to realize that it is the story of my life.

I don't really know how I got here

But I'm sure glad that I did

And it's crazy to think that one little thing

Could've changed all of it

Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned

Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man

For every stoplight I didn't make

Every chance I did or I didn't take

All the nights I went to far

All the girls that broke my heart

All the doors that I had to close

All the things I knew but I didn't know

Thank God for all I missed

'Cause it led me here to this

I graduated from VT with a job. Technically.

It didn't work out so well, and a few days after graduation, I was jobless.

I was depressed to be moving back in with my parents, so I spent the beginning of the summer traveling all over the east coast visiting friends, and spending all my waking hours at the gym. Midway through the summer, I realized that I was being an asshole and needed to get my life together. I enrolled in prerequisite classes that I didn't take at VT so that I could apply to Grad School in Occupational Therapy. I needed some extra cash, and since school was only a few hours a week, was also bored out of my mind.

I walked into the mall near the Community College that I was taking classes at and applied for a job at Lilly. I mean, I wore all the clothes anyway, so why not work there and get a discount? I got the job and started as a part time sales associate. I loved learning the stories behind the print names, and I genuinely enjoyed working with customers and spreading my Lilly love. Shortly after I started, I was promoted and given a key to the store. Only a few months after that I was given a full time job (with health insurance! yay!) and put my Grad School career on the backburner since I was in no place to be paying my way through school.

Not returning to school in the fall of 2011 was really tough. I mean, I know it was my decision to work full time and focus on growing in the industry, but I was so jealous of all of my friends. So many of them had these amazing jobs, almost all of them had moved out of their parents house, and a couple were even getting married! Here I was, stuck 300 miles from all of this, and living with my parents.

Great.

Here I am, another year later, in the same position. I live with my parents. I'm 24 years old. I don't have a boyfriend. My best friends are at least 300 miles away from me. I seem to always focus on the things that I don't have, and forget to focus on the things that I do have.

I have parents that are willing (and dare I say enjoying?) to feed me and house me until I can move out. I have a job (that I really kind of love) that gives me health insurance, and is more like hanging out with my girlfriends than real work. I have a (LONG) commute that gives me time to catch up with friends and family on the phone.

I really do have a great life.

Recently, I was trying to get a job in DC. I mean, moving down there has been a dream of mine since I graduated, and I thought that it would make me happy to move down there. I had put dating on hold, moving out on hold (for fear that I wouldn't be able to get out of a lease), and really everything else in my life on hold until I could move on with my life. But things didn't work out, and I was crushed. How could I be so close yet so far from the job of my dreams? And then I realized something important.

I need to live life in the present.
Everything good and bad that has happened in the last few years have led me to be the person that I am today. I need to stop holding back and sitting here, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for an opportunity to come along. I am sick of waiting.

via

I need to create the life that I want.
I don't hate NY as much as I lead myself to believe I do.
I don't hate living with my parents as much as I tell people I do.

My mission from today on;
Create the life that I want to live.
Seize every single day and make it the best it can be.
Seek out opportunities that I want to take advantage of.
Work harder.
Play harder.

What is your mission?