Happy Anniversary to me!

This weekend I went to Stockton and ended up celebrating several special events not the least of which is the one year anniversary of me becoming a free woman. I know I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was coming up on the one year mark but I didn't really have a lot of time to think about it over the last few weeks of school and holiday. I can not thank my parents enough for all the support they have given me over the course of this past year but this weekend I got to pamper myself, relax, and hang out with the friends who helped me see just how far I've come. As Christie put it "its been a hard year but you've learned a lot". I would have to say that is true. So in honor of the hurdles I have overcome (either by jumping over them or running around them...) I am going to post the top 10 things I have learned in the last year.

10. Blame may be deserved but it doesn't make anything different, it is up to me to stand up for myself.

~~I was reading a book the other day and found the greatest quote that describes greatly what I have learned about myself this year. "And what about me? I had been there too. I could have stepped in. Instead I had been complicit & passive clinging to the position where I could blame if needed."

9. It is always worse to be lonley with people around than to actually be alone.

8. Single does not = alone...there are many people who love me. There are worse things in life than being single....

7. If someone lies to you once and you don't call them on it, they will continue to lie to you.

6. If someone can talk badly about other people behind their back and act like best friends when they are with them, they are most likely doing the same thing to you.

5. If you are not going to do something about a situation that makes you miserable you are better off walking away because it will only get worse. At the same time there is nothing you can do if you aren't approaching a relationship with the same vision of the future.

4. If someone thinks you don't love them there is nothing you can do to change their mind, and if they think they don't deserve you...maybe they are right.

3. The best (only) gift some people can give you is to walk away when you should but won't.

2. I am stronger than I feel. I can make it on my own. I am perfectly capable of success and can deal with it even if I don't.

1. I am a beautiful, intelligent, caring, and compassionate individual who deserves to be respected. If other people can't see it thats their problem not mine and I don't need that kind of energy in my life.