2010 in Review.

My family summed it up best when they said all I did this year was destroy my liver and blacken my lungs with cigarettes. While that is mostly true, I can also say that I've learned life lessons that I feel were warranted because of my unemployment. I can say unselfishly that if someone had to be unemployed, I'm glad it was me. Many people I know and live with, associate with on a daily basis are dependent on money, not because they have to have money to be happy, but because they have families, mortages, and grown-up bills that I have yet to experience. I've definitely learned the value of a dollar, something I always took for granted, but I can honestly say it's something I've learned can change lives and choices. I know that giving a dollar can mean a difference to someone who needs it; I know spending that extra dollar on a shirt I don't need can mean a difference; I know spending that extra dollar on a diet soda can mean a difference. A dollar is a lot. Another very important thing I learned this past year, and not necessarily just this past year but my whole life, is I think I have a pretty good idea who's special in my life. Friends and family are there for you, thick or thin, muddy or clear, sad or happy. They will offer shoulders to cry on, beers to cheers to, meals to eat, gas for cars, trips to share moments with...they are what make your life what it is. It's not the jobs, the moneys, the meaningless gifts and materialistic items, it's the moments you create and share. I am especially thankful for this. 3. Patience is a virtue. I feel patience is something learned through hardship, not just internally but with dumbass people. Patience is a quality I think is very underrated. Recently, a friend was asked what her "three biggest traits" were and that got me thinking of my very own 3. While I still wouldn't say I'm a completely patient person, I think it's something I've worked very hard with my entire life. You have to be patient to let things happen. Whether it's luck, hard work, coincidental, or pure genius, you have to wait for those special moments in life to come. These past few years, I was more than patient. And although things haven't completely happened the way it's turned out, I feel I'm in the right direction for them to happen. I know I'll be an architect again one day. It's been a dream since I can remember, and I refuse to make it a pipe dream. I know it can happen and will happen. I just have to set it aside for now and hope that one day, I don't lose my way and give up on it. As of today, I am officially a USPS city carrier aka mailman. Although I am super excited for this opportunity, I know I won't die a mailman; it's just something I have to do right now, and at least I can say it's not such a bad plan B. One other thing that is often overlooked is that time continues to move forward. It's a scary thing when you think about it. You know that time moves, you know that if you look at your watch, you see the seconds pass by, but do you REALLY know? I didn't come to this realization until a couple months ago when I realized I was turning 27. Where's my wife? Where's my job? Where's my life going? What am I doing? How do I get back on track? Will I ever? They were all questions I bombarded my head with, and I inevitably cried myself to sleep that fateful night. It was an awful feeling, one of the worst I've felt in awhile, but it changed me. It made me really understand that I need to get myself together and make things happen. I always kid around when friends and family come to me with their problems, and I usually end the conversation with, "Life is stupid." It really isn't. It's just hard, and you just have to get through it. You make the best of what's given to you, and you put on a smile and share that smile. As Jason Mraz puts it,

Sometimes the sun shines on other people’s houses and not mine
Some days the clouds paint the sky all grey and it takes away my summertime
Sometimes the sun keeps shining upon you while I struggle to get mine
If there’s a light in everybody, send out your ray of sunshine.

Who knows, maybe my unemployment was a blessing in disguise. If I had to be unemployed for two years to learn these things, I don't regret a day of it.