It's time to begin isn't it

Put all your stress aside, your mind at ease, and your heart centered. Are you happy with where you're at? So many may say yes, but so many may say no, and there will be many that will think not as happy as I could be. That's what I woke up thinking one morning after reading The Happiness Project, and that's what got me blogging.

If you are in your mid-20s, folks, this is PRIME TIME in your life. Time to find yourself, what you like and don't like, what you enjoy and don't enjoy, time to ponder and really take control of where your life is going. Now, anyone who is older and younger, it's never too late or too soon. But I'm sure many who are older will agree: Your 20s are YOURS. Whatever you make of your 20s will define the rest of your life. (I'm sure this goes for many other seasons in life, as well.) This, also, is a GREAT time to work AS HARD as you can. Next thing you know, you're married, busy, having children, and have NO time to yourself. That's why I am choosing to really cherish these years. They aren't easy, as I've written before. Nothing can prepare you for post-college. Not even college can prepare for post-college life. Sorry folks. I don't think anyone expects to work a 9-5 the rest of their life, and settle into the first job they get. I don't think anyone likes the reality of your income going towards college bills, car payments, keeping your health good, and so on. I have recently been told Instead of wishing it were easier, make yourself better. I don't exactly wish it were easier. I wish the world went round' differently, and starving kids could eat, and every married couple would be happy, and homeless people had a home, and murderers didn't exist, and that everyone is safe in their own home, and President's wouldn't lie. I wish a lot of things, but I seldom wish it were easier. Sometimes I wish I were in someone else's shoes, someone who DOES have it easier. But at the same time, I am truly blessed, and I'm happy to be where I'm at.

My mind always wanders off to "what if" or "what I would have done if I would have known then what I know now". Honestly, I probably wouldn't be residing in a northern state, I'd be closer to my family, I wouldn't date in high school or college, I may not have gone to a private college, I might have not trusted the wrong people and trusted the right people, I would have stayed involved in church more, and so on. The list goes on and on. But I truly am blessed. I can't say it enough. I am blessed. I'm alive and well, I feel safe, have a great relationship, have wonderful friends, and I get to visit my family more often than I ever thought I'd be able. And those are things to be thankful for. Yes, I have changed a lot in the last year. Heck, the last five years. Don't be too quick to judge, though. Because I am still Carissa.

"It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was
Now don't you understand
That I'm never changing who I am"
-Imagine Dragons

Start every day brand new, and remember, you are still YOU.