The Last Decade

As I was sitting at my desk this morning, I received an email from a good friend recapping some of her ?firsts? of the decade along with a message remarking how much we all have changed and grown over the last 10 years and thanking us (me and another close friend who all email each other almost daily) for our friendship over those years. It made me really stop and think about the last decade. A lot has happened. I can safely say I am definitely not the same person I was 10 years ago. Life and events have molded and shaped me into a far different person than I would have thought. There have been things best left forgotten, things that should never be forgotten, and thing I will remember for a lifetime. So I took some time and came up with my own list of personal firsts. I would like to share it.
In the last 10 years I have: seen my first (and hopefully LAST) ghost, kept a house plant alive the whole 10 years, gone to Europe, moved away from home, gotten my first real job.
In the last 10 years I have: had my first boyfriend. I didn?t date in high school. I didn?t have time with all the activities I was involved in; but I never felt like I was missing out on anything. So it wasn?t too surprising that I was 18 years old and out of high school when I had my first boyfriend. We lived and went to schools several hours apart. As one could imagine, it didn?t work out. So along with my first boyfriend, I had my first break up. It was heart wrenching at the time, though not heart breaking.
In the last 10 years I have: gone to and graduated from college. Pretty on par for most people my age. But for me and my family, it was a pretty big deal. I was the first person in my immediate family to start and complete college. Not to mention I did it in four years with two majors (one involving a language) and a minor. I didn?t graduate with honors. I probably could have if I had stayed away from theatre, but I enjoyed almost every minute I was there. And my great grandmother can say she has seen her great granddaughter graduate from college (and she literally did, she was at the ceremony). So while it was really not a whole lot in comparison to people my age, I?m pretty proud of this accomplishment.
In the last 10 years I have: gotten my driver?s license. I was 24. I couldn?t afford to pay for the insurance to even have a permit under the age of 18. Once I was 18, I could drive with a licensed driver in the car, and I couldn?t afford a car, so there was always someone else in the car. I had had my permit for 6 years by the time I finally had enough money to buy a car and pay for insurance. I passed my test in less than 5 mins on the 1st try.
In the last 10 years I have: made my first major purchase (well outright purchase). I bought a teal green, ?96 Pontiac Sunfire I named Kermit for $1400. It was a good car that kept me safe and got me where I needed to go. In the end, it needed a new transmission and had no air conditioning. I still miss Kermit some days. However?
In the last 10 years I have: taken out my first car loan. When it became apparent it was going to be very expensive to fix Kermit, I knew I would have to finally find something else. In June of 2009, I took out my first car loan for $12,000 to finance a 2008 Chevy HHR. His name is Capone. I got him 5 days before?
In the last 10 years I have: been laid off from my first real job. Given the state of the economy, it was a matter of when and not if I was laid off. Thanks to unemployment I was able to keep my new car. I was out of work for 2 ? months before I found something new. I am still grateful to my former employer for the opportunity to gain the experience needed to move on to a better position with a new company. I love my new job.
In the last 10 years I have: fallen in love. I wasn?t looking for it, but it was there. It was a gradual. We were friends for 2 ? years. Actually there was a good 4 months we didn?t even speak to one another. But somehow we found our way to each other. It was amazing. I was prepared to leave Minnesota and my family to follow my heart. But it was not meant to be. We have gone our separate ways. We don?t speak. I have finally stopped wondering what might have been. In the last 10 years I have: had my heart broken.
In the last 10 years I have: moved into my own apartment by myself. In true ?me? fashion, it was a beautiful, quaint little place built in 1887. I lived in part of an old row town house. It was perfect for me. I gave it up to buy a house with my boyfriend, and now I live with my mom. Funny how this decade has come full circle in some respects.
Along with the list of firsts, comes a decade of lessons:
Teachers have more to teach then what is in books. I learned more about how to be a good, compassionate person from my professors than academics.
It doesn?t matter how smart you are, there is always more to learn, and in reality, we know less than we think.
Faith must truly be felt in one?s heart to be real.
The hardest decisions we have to make are the ones that help up grow the most
Friendships ebb and flow and sometimes die. And that?s ok; it doesn?t make them any less significant
Love alone is not enough to make a relationship work. No matter how hard you try.