The Bright Side of Things

The past 2 weeks or so have been tough. I have trying very hard to appreciate the blessings in my life as my sister lost her job due to the economic downturn. I keep reminding myself that although sometimes I may not like my job, but I have a job, and it covers my expenses. I may not like the neighborhood I live in, but I love our house and that rent is dirt cheap. I cannot express how important it is to keep it all in perspective.

As a 20-something (25 today! Go me!) in America, I have no idea what to expect in the years ahead. I would like to imagine that in 10 years, I'll have a house and kids. But what if that is not the case? Watching my sister and see how quickly her life was turned upsidedown, making some car trouble last weekend almost unbearable, I'm pretty aware that anything could happen.

So here's how I plan to manage within a country that is getting so bad that illegal immigrants don't even want to live here anymore (I know that's bad, but it's true, just listen to NPR):

Stay healthy. Exercise. Feeling good and being healthy improves your outlook on life.

Live more efficiently. Don't buy snackfoods every time I go grocery shopping; rather, spend the money on healthy foods that will keep me well nourished. Turn off lights in rooms I'm not in. Keep the heat turned down on days no one is home.

Spend my time and money visiting family. This is becoming more and more important to me. If I'm going to spend $75-$100 for a weekend, it's going to be to visit my parents and siblings. Life is short. My nephews grow like weeds between visits. You don't get this time back. Parents grow old and nieces and nephews will be in high school not wanting to hang out with their auntie.

Not worry about things that are not within my control. Anything toxic in my life must be left in the past so I can move forward and be happy with who I am now, not who I was 2, 5 or 10 years ago.

Oh, and this is most important: Think Positive. Things will get better for us. They might get worse first, but there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Here's proof: My sister interviewed over the phone on Wednesday for a job, and they emailed her yesterday saying they were going with someone else. An hour later, she was asked to interview this morning for a different position at the same company. She was the only resume they wanted to see. She walked in this morning for the interview, and walked out with the job!

I'm off to enjoy my birthday. A couple friends and their beaus are coming over tonight for Chinese food and shenanigans, but before they do that, I need to indulge on a killer sandwich for lunch, catch up on Gossip Girl, go buy some wine and cupcakes, and get a pedicure.

Cheers!