Rose-colored glasses

I’m going to strive to be a better person in 2012. Not just walk the walk and talk the talk, but actually be a better person. For myself, not for anyone else. I have never been one to blame the hardships of my life on other people, I know that most of the factors affecting my life are within my control. There is a great announcement that comes over the radio every morning at school, “make it a good day or not, the choice is yours.” Every morning I hear that announcement, usually once or twice a week, it reminds me that everything I need to be happy is already in my hands.

Happiness depends on how you spin it. I probably have the biggest pair of rose-colored glasses of anyone you will ever meet. They sure are pretty, too. I look back on years or events with fondness…and then I actually remember them in detail. And then I laugh because usually there was so much chaos and craziness that I can’t believe I could ever forget! Perfect example: 2007. Most of the time, I look back on that year with so much wistfulness I think I might bust. And then I remember some details.

• I struggled with anxiety. I had so many panic attacks I thought I must be making them up and maybe they were just asthma or something.

• I struggled with an unknown stomach virus that caused me to lose 40 pounds in 2 months in late 2006. I slowly gained some weight back, but it was an embarrassing struggle that often times made me look like a closet-bulimic. Plus, who wants to be 5’8” and weigh 100 pounds? Not this girl.

• I graduated college. YAY! That one can stay rosy.

• I road-tripped across the country with one of my best friends. I stayed in Kentucky, while he hopped a plane home. That is true friendship!

• I was robbed as a teller at Bank of America. Not so rosy.

• I totaled my vehicle and had potential broken leg. Again, not so rosy.

• Anhydrous ammonia leak in our neighborhood. This one should be NOT rosy, but that was such a fun day of being evacuated refugees that I can’t help but laugh.

Those are just a few of my adventures from 2007, the cream of the crop, if you will. And I know if I went back and counted up the good vs. bad, the good would win by a mile. But it helps keep my current situations in perspective when I look back on a year like 2007. If I can come out of that on the other side, smiling and healthy, it gives me hope. It reminds me that I was that person once, and I can be that person again. Or maybe I won’t be, but I’ll always have my rose-colored glasses to fix that right up!