So 2009 kinda sucked for me. 2009 just would not stop kicking me in the teeth, and just when I thought it was done kicking me in the teeth, it kicked me in the ovaries.
2009 was a fickle bitch.
2009 was riddled with health problems. And in America, health problems are expensive, ya’ll. 2009 was full of dreams and plans that fizzled out. 2009 involved dropping out of school due to aforementioned health problems. 2009 involved losing weight and gaining it back. 2009 involved searching for a new job for months, finally finding one, then discovering that if I didn’t like being a pharmacy technician in the first place, switching pharmacies wasn’t going to make pharmacy tech-ing any more enjoyable.
BUT there is something to be said for all the trials and tribulations of 2009: I learned a lot. A LOT. Mostly about myself, and self-knowledge is important, right? Here are my most important lessons of 2009:
1. Get a good night’s sleep. Go to bed early, and wake up early.
Of course, it’s one thing to learn this lesson and another to implement it in your life. I went to bed at 2:30 AM last night… er, this morning. But at one point this year, I was hitting the hay around 10:00 PM and waking up at 6:00 AM and can I just say that it makes a huge difference? HUGE. I had all kinds of silly notions about sleep, like I’m too young to go to bed before midnight or I’ll sleep when I’m dead! This is stupid. Really stupid. So in 2010 I’m going to soñar con los angelitos eight hours a night, and make those eight hours in a socially acceptable time window.
2. Stop looking outside myself
If I rely on other people to make me happy or provide my sense of self, I will always wind up disappointed. Listen to yourself. The world will tell you to keep your mouth shut, to toe the line, to have a “good attitude”. I have learned that a lot of the “rules” that society imposes upon us are ridiculous. Reading Revolutionary Road shook me to the core this year. (The film is excellent as well.) So when I find myself getting caught up in things that I “have” to do, or things that I “should” or “shouldn’t” do, I try to remember Kate Winslet as April Wheeler, screaming, “WHO MADE THESE RULES, ANYWAY?!”
(Please note: I am not encouraging sociopathy. Some of the rules are ok.)
3. Be brave.
I’ve been cautious and careful for too long, and it hasn’t gotten me where I want to be. I want 2010 to be the year that I start doing things that scare me. If I’m scared to do something that I want to do, that’s probably a good indicator that I need to do it ASAP.
So… ya’ll have been warned. Big things and big ch-ch-ch-changes are afoot at Casa Andrea. And if, in fact, nothing changes, you have permission to kick me in the ovaries.
Finally, a scene from one of the best films about life and death ever made, Harold and Maude:
