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So, you guys know I've always wanted a veggie garden. Well, this year I actually started one. These are old pics -- from right after Mother's Day or so when it was first planted -- so the garden's progressed some since then. However, we typically take our time pulling photos from cameras and such. Don't worry. I'll take more of how things are coming along once I get rid of some of the unsightly weeds that have appeared in the interim. I want everything to look purty before I go broadcasting it to the rest of the world.

That's me raking vegetable 'roids Miracle-Gro into the soil to get things off on the right foot. I have no idea whether or not that's the true Montanan thing to do or not, but this is my first farming experiment, so I need all the help I can get!

Here's me actually planting. Pay no attention to that super-confused look on my face. I know exactly what I'm doing. No, really. Why don't you believe me?

So, we've planted corn, watermelon, onions, lettuce, carrots, and squash. The squash, lettuce, and corn are really truckin' by now. The carrots and onions are getting there. Baby Watermelon just made an appearance yesterday and we're happy to welcome her to the fold. This gardening stuff is honestly really gratifying once you see you actually... well... made stuff and weren't just sticking seeds in the ground, you know?

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A friend posted this very interesting article in his own blog today all about how the smarter someone is, the harder a time they're probably going to have in finding a partner or building lasting relationships with other people. I was originally going to respond to it with some of my own insights in a comment to his original post, as I had many, but I then thought it might be something I'd prefer to explore in my own space in more detail and share with my own friends. 

It's definitely a very interesting article and I could identify with a lot of it. Throughout the length of it the author made five major points in regards to how intelligent people typically run into obstacles when it comes to dating and forming relationships with others, so I'll list them and respond to each individually. Maybe he's right and my so-called "brains" probably have played a major part in why I haven't been more successful in forming a stable social circle or cultivating lasting romantic relationships over the course of my life.

1. Smart people spent more time on achievements than on relationships when growing up.

Here's the odd thing about the "me" I was when I was still growing up. I was more or less effortlessly smart, meaning I didn't fit most people's image of "the smart kid" at all. I didn't spend all my energy studying, worrying about my grades, or dreaming about all the monumental accomplishments I was going to fill my life with. In fact, I didn't even really trywhen it came to school and I mostly considered "being smart" to be a burden. I was a shy little girl who very much hated attention or being singled out from the rest of the kids in any way, and I saw my so-called incredible mind to be the cause of all my troubles. I didn't want to be special in any way. I wanted to be normal -- to fit in. 

Being smart was something I was very ashamed of as a child and made every effort to hide. I treated it like some kind of deformity. It wasn't that I didn't want to identify with others or form strong connections. I just... couldn't. I was too different and I never understood why. My parents and teachers very much wanted me to be more achievement-oriented, but the other thing about me is that I'm incredibly stubborn. If someone thinks they can make me do something, you can bet I'll make damned sure it's the last thing I ever do -- to prove I can't be controlled if for no other reason. It wasn't until later on that I discovered I actually enjoyedbeing more achievement oriented than I had been previously.

2. Smart people feel that they're entitled to love because of their achievements.

I wouldn't say this is true of me. I will admit that I probably feel I'm entitled to a high standard of living because of my achievements, intellect, or inherent "value" to society, but that is because I work hard and make a conscious effort to give back to the rest of the world. I don't, however, feel I'm entitled to love. In fact, I think my biggest problem is that over the years I've become very hardened to the idea of love or friendship. Since it isn't territory I can conquer just by thinking or working hard enough, I've dismissed it as something people like me can take or leave. 

Part of this may be due to the fact that I've had very few even slightly deep or rewarding connections with other people over the course of my lifetime. I can clearly see how much such things enhance the lives of other people I know, but I have never really experienced it myself to any degree that could be considered expansive. While I've had many romantic relationships and friendships over the years, very few of them have gone beyond a certain emotional depth.

3. You don't feel like a fully-realized sexual being, and therefore don't act like one.

This may be correct of me in some ways, but not in any way that people ever notice, if that makes any sense. The author of the article talks about a lot of smart people neglecting their appearance because they identify more with themselves on a mental level. I've never been this way... not really, anyway. It could be in part because I'm an artist and therefore more visually oriented, but I've always been relatively attentive to my physical appearance -- especially when getting ready to go out in public. It's part of how I show respect for myself. While I may do things like forgo "extras" like make-up or elaborate outfits sometimes, I don't like feeling sloppy or dirty by any means.

I've also always apparently been considered to be very beautiful by others -- especially men. In fact, I've typically had to beat them off with the proverbial stick. This is despite the fact that I'm not at all flirtatious or even friendly in many cases. I don't like being approached, bothered, or even noticed by others when out in public, and I personally feel that it shows. However, for some reason people have always read my lack of interest or openness as extreme confidence or "playing hard-to-get" -- attractive qualities to many. In reality, I don't make any conscious effort to attract attention to myself or present myself to others as a "sexy" person. Peopleassume I'm a very sexual, very socially-oriented person solely because I exist in a body I had no hand in choosing, which brings me to my next point.

The article is correct in the sense that I don't really "connect" with my physical body as an actual part of me. I consider my own beauty to be irrelevant and really don't understand why anyone else would consider it important. My body is nothing but packaging to me. I didn't choose it and I don't identify with it. If anything, I find having a body to be incredibly irritating. I sometimes hate that I have to waste time feeding it, cleaning it, or grooming it. I even feel like being required to exist as a physical being actual holds me back in many ways.

4. You're exceptionally talented at getting in the way of your own romantic success.

This is incredibly true of me. I over-think absolutely everything. Sometimes this is a good thing, but when it comes to matters like human connection that must be navigated via emotion as opposed to logic, it just doesn't work. That's really all I have to say about this. The author is right. I probably think my way out of happiness more than I care to realize.

5. By virtue (or vice) of being smart, you eliminate most of the planet's inhabitants as a dating prospect.

This is the truest statement of all. Like anyone else, I want to be around people that I can identify with while still remaining "myself". The truth is I'm not that insecure little girl who was so profoundly ashamed of her intellect anymore. I have grown to truly love being smart and even to consider it to be my defining characteristic. However, I've had to accept that a lot of people can't keep up with me in this department. A lot of people don't perceive or understand the world in the same way I do and they don't share my interest in so-called "smart people" pastimes or interests. 

A true partner in any sense of the word is someone I don't have to dumb myself down for for any reason, and in many of my past relationships and friendships, I have had to do that in order to keep the peace. In that sense, it's always been difficult for me to form deep, lasting connections with others even when I really want to. The author of the article suggested three ways of dealing with this part of the issue, which I will address separately. (Yay for bullet lists!)

• Loosen up. 
  
  This is in all likelihood never going to happen. The fact of the matter is that I am still a very stubborn person with high standards. I want what I want the way I want it. I don't want social connections with others just for the sake of having them. If they're not going to bring the kind of fulfillment to my life that other people get from their social connections, then I'd honestly prefer to go without. I like being me, and my social relationships need to be able to accommodate me just the way I am, as well as give me room to evolve.



• Do a very thorough search all over the planet and be prepared to move to Dusseldorf.
  
  I know he's joking, but my lack of ability to connect with people in my immediate area was exactly why I started socializing online more. I have more of a social life on the internet than I ever had in real life. This is solely because I'm not limiting myself to only the people that live within X number of miles from me. And what's so bad about moving to Dusseldorf? I'd personally love an excuse to live in Dusseldorf. If I were single and looking, I'd almost consider having a chance to experience life in another country or state to be a plus as opposed to a drawback.



• Join a monastery.
  
  Laugh if you will, but some of you may remember me talking about this subject in the past. If I had grown up in an environment where religious faith played a very large part in my life, I very likely would have at least considered becoming a nun, a missionary, or something similar. It actually doesn't sound like it would have been such a bad life for me.

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Trying to figure out what the defining moments in my life have been up until this point really wasn't any easy feat. None of the obvious choices really apply in my case. For instance, like a lot of people, I've been married and divorced. However, unlike most people who go through those experiences, neither of them really affected much about my life or my identity as a person. 

I know it sounds terrible, but I more or less got married "just because" and chose to get divorced just as flippantly when it didn't work out to my liking. In both cases, life went on very much as usual for me. Neither event felt at all monumental to me or had much of an impact on who I eventually became. I've always been weird that way though. Other seemingly "big" moments -- like first job, graduation, first apartment -- don't really seem to have much significance for me either. 

However, I think I've managed to pinpoint some that do. The odd thing that all my "moments" have in common was that I didn't recognize them as being monumental or life-changing at the time at all. In each case, their importance only became clear long after they occurred. 

1. First Art Sale: The first time I ever sold one of my personal pieces of art was very much a defining moment for me. The fact that someone would actually pay their own hard-earned money for something I was as proud of and that I felt defined me as much as my art did meant more to me than I can ever fully explain. Up until that point, I was certainly used to hearing praise and encouragement from family, friends, or teachers in regards to how great they thought my art was, but knowing that perfect strangers who had no reason to want to stroke my ego might feel the same way changed a lot about how I saw myself and my talents. From that moment on, I started to take some of the things I was good at a lot more seriously.

2. First Vacation Without My Parents: When I was younger, I was painfully shy and didn't ever really do much without one or both of my parents right there by my side. This was especially so when it came to going out of town or taking a vacation. I did that for the first time with a friend from work one spring after graduating college. We drove to Las Vegas together -- a good nine hours or so out of where I lived at the time -- and I had a blast. Up until that point, I'd never really been out "on my own" or been free to just do whatever, nor had I ever had any wish to, so I was surprised and delighted when I actually really liked it. I now think of the day I got in that car to go to Vegas as the day I started to become my own person outside of who I was to my family.

3. First Time Buying Groceries With Freelance Money: I was really never someone that could get excited about working for someone else. I hated having to arrange my life around someone else's schedule, let someone else dictate what my time was worth per hour, and wait on someone else's customers for them. In order for me to enjoy or be good at a job, I really have to be personally invested in it and I just don't care about being a cog in the machine of someone else's business. Working for myself is different though. I really care about my customers and the quality of the work I do, and as a result, I take great pride in everything attached to it. 

However, as is the case for most freelancers, it took me a while to get to the point where I could actually pay my bills that way, and I actually wondered for a long time whether or not I'd ever really be able to truly leave working for other people behind forever. The moment I realized I actually had was the first time I was able to push a full cart of groceries out of the store that had been paid for entirely with freelance writing money. It was probably one of the proudest moments of my life.

4. Winter 2003-2004: That was the period of my life during which I wound up becoming estranged from a bunch of my core family members. It was also probably one of the only experiences I've ever had that I considered to be truly painful for me on an emotional level. Up until that point, a huge part of my identity related directly to the role I played within my family unit, and without that unit in place anymore, I was forced for the first time to really examine who I was and decide how I felt about that. It was very difficult, but I did it, and although I still wish I could have learned that lesson in a less painful way, I'm still nevertheless glad I learned it. I wouldn't be the same person I am now without the insight I gained.

5. Opening My First Blog: Keeping a journal was nothing new to me at that point in my life, as I'd kept one since I was little. However, allowing other people to read what I wrote was. I was always painfully shy and very introverted -- even as an adult -- and it was unusual for me to really share much of myself with anyone in any way. Starting to share some of my experiences, thoughts, and feelings with what potentially amounts to the rest of the world was an important turning point experience for me. 

Although I'm still very much a loner, I'm much better at allowing others into my life and my thoughts than I once was. Blogging was also what eventually helped pave the way to my eventually sharing my artwork with others, taking my writing skills more seriously, and connecting with others to a degree I doubt I ever would have been open to otherwise.

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• You don't really hate me. You're just jealous of me and pissed off that you have to be you instead.



• Screw my relationship with you. I'm too good for you anyway, and you should feel lucky I even give you the time of day.



• I don't have to accept your criticism because I'm way more intelligent/talented/successful/attractive than you are. Call me when we're equals andthen we'll talk.



• I didn't get that job/date/opportunity because I'm too pretty/smart/talented for my own good. They were just afraid I won't stick around or allow myself to be taken advantage of.



• I'm not going to bother talking this problem out. Instead I'm just going to storm off in a huff and never speak to you again because the best way to punish you is to simply deprive you of my presence in your life.



• I'll commit to a friendship/relationship/traditional job position once and for all when I find one that's actually worthy of me. In the meantime... whatever.

See how that works? Every time something bad happens or life doesn't work out the way you wanted it to, you just blame it on how jealous people are of your innate superiority over them. It's really actually quite effective and you almost never have to waste time or energy actually crying or feeling depressed.

No... I'm never sarcastic! What would make you ask such a question?

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I snagged this from ayoub because I thought it was such a lovely idea for a blog post. I also think that it is very true that there are certain things everyone should be able to have said at one point or another in their lifetime. I, of course, have my own slant to put on some of these, which ought to be interesting.

1. Thanks for everything you’ve done.
I may not be as good at thanking people as profusely or as often as I should, but I can recall plenty of instances where I did actually make it a point to make sure someone knew just how much I appreciated all that they'd done for me. I just need to learn how to do it every time.

2. You’ve changed my life.
I've said this to many people... and repeatedly. Sometimes they changed my life by interacting with me in a positive way, and sometimes it was not so positive. However, I've learned to embrace leaving my comfort zone as a good thing -- even when I'm jarred out of it.

3. I need you.
I actually do not recall ever having said this to anyone, and I doubt that I ever will. I personally believe "need" to be an illusion in most cases, and it's hard for me to think ofactually "needing" anyone other than one's self to be positive. I'd personally prefer to be "wanted" as opposed to "needed" any day.

4. I’ve only got one life to live.
I say this often, and I have learned to live by it, too.

5. Nothing can stop me.
That's for damn sure, and I'll see to it that nothing ever does.

6. I love my life.
I would one day like to be able to say I love everything about my life and everything in it. However, I can say that overall, I do love my life and I am excited about my future.

7. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.
I can say this at least some of the time, as I have very few things I do that I can't stand. I think that the more one can say this, the better life probably is.

8. I can change the world.
I believe that I already have, at least in small ways. I also believe that one day I will change it in big ways, too.

9. I will change the world.
Well... yeah, duh. I just said that.

10. I have changed the world.
This is hard for me to say, as it's difficult for me to acknowledge smaller achievements as being significant enough to count as "changing the world". However, I am sure that at least in some way, I have changed the world just by existing.

11. I’m rich without money.
I used to think that it was possible to be able to make this statement and have it be true, but I no longer do. Call me superficial and materialistic if you want to, but I'm a realist. Money is important in order to be truly rich or well-off by my definition.

12. I’m doing what I was meant to do.
This is one I can definitely say with conviction.

13. I conquered my biggest fear.
I can say this, but I can't really take credit for it as I had little choice in the matter. My biggest fear was always growing up and becoming an adult.

14. Glad to help you.
You know... to be honest, it's rare that I actually say this and mean it. Having to help someone usually feels like an obligation. However, I'm getting to the point where I'm placed in situations where I am happy to help, which can only be a good thing for all involved.

15. I have all the money I need.
Hrm... yeah, I can probably say this. Do I have as much money as I want? No, but I do more or less have what I need.

16. I don’t care what people think.
I have never given a rat's ass what other people think of me as long as I'm being true to myself. I don't even care when I probably should.

17. I’m honest.
I am. To a fault even.

18. I’m going for it!
This is becoming more and more a regular part of my vocabulary. I'd like that trend to continue.

19. I’m proud of myself.
I've always been a very proud person, and I am especially so these days.

20. I’ve failed.
I've said this in the past, but I will never say it again. I no longer believe in failure, and people who use the word "fail" all the time honestly get on my nerves. The only real failure is in giving up or not trying in the first place.

21. I’ve learned from my failures.
There's that word again that I don't like, but if you want to substitutes "mistakes" or "setbacks", then yes. I can say I've honestly learned a lot from mine.

22. I have no regrets.
I don't. Regret is a damn waste of time and energy. Even the not-so-nice things I've done in my lifetime have helped make me who I am today, and I'm proud of who I am.

23. I don’t like my life.
Oh yeah... I said this ad nauseum for the first 28 years or so of mine.

24. I’ve never had more fun in my life.
I say this a lot and I mean it every time, too.

25. You hurt me.
Something I wish I've had occasion to say a lot less often, but yes. I've said it and often.

26. There’s more to life than this.
There certainly is! Even when life's going well, there's always something more to experience and enjoy. That's the beauty of it.

27. I love you no matter what.
Never said this and never will. I don't believe in unconditional love. I don't care who you are and it doesn't matter how much I love you. There's something you can do that could potentially make me stop.

28. I’ve accomplished a lot.
This is hard for me to say, as I hold myself to extremely high standards. Most people's "a lot" is equivalent to me "not much". I'm working on learning to allow myself a pat on the back once in a while though.

29. You’ve been successful.
I say this to people often, because I know from personal experience how difficult it is to assess the value, or even the existence of your own successes.

30. I’m listening.
Some people would beg to differ, but I'm actually a decent listener. I say this... and show it to the best of my ability.

31. I’m here for you.
I say this a lot. I'm relatively good at this one, actually.

32. Words can’t describe the way I feel.
I've been at a loss for words before, and I've expressed it, but I don't think I meant it the way this statement implies. 

33. I’m not giving up.
I say this everyday. It's the stubborn person's mantra.

34. I don’t have any worries.
Yeah... this one will probably happen when I sprout wings and fly to Mars.

35. There is no place like home.
There isn't, but I find that the concept of what "home" means is actually pretty flexible.

36. It was a pleasure to talk to you.
I say this a lot. I almost never mean it. However, there are rare occasions that involve good friends where I do.

37. I have all the time in the world.
If I ever say this, please shoot me. It means I have a death wish anyway.

38. I need a hand.
Asking for help is difficult to impossible for me. However, I'm learning to ask for it when I really need it.

39. You’re my best friend.
Sure, I've said this. Even if my friendship was misplaced, I've always meant it at the time, too.

40. I’m glad you were here.
I've said this a few time. I should say it more often, because I think it more than I say it.

41. I’m just gonna go for it.
Dude... we covered this already. I'm sure of it.

42. I can’t thank you enough.
I thank people when warranted, but generally not this profusely.

43. I’m trusting my gut.
I need to do this more often. Every time I don't, I wind up screwed.

44. I follow my own path.
I don't believe I could say otherwise even at gunpoint. I am annoyingly stubborn.

45. What a wonderful world.
I believe it is in its own way. The world can be quite intriguing and interesting, but it is hard to really have that "whistlin' Dixie" feeling about it all around.

46. I take full responsibility.
I say this often. I believe in owning up to my mistakes and making amends for them.

47. I’m not sorry. 
I say this an awful lot. It pisses a lot of people off, too.

48. I came, I saw, I conquered.
I wouldn't phrase it quite that way, but sure. I've said it.

49. I haven’t said enough.
On the contrary. I usually have to apologize for saying too much. 

50. I’m not afraid.
I don't believe that fear is a bad thing, to be honest. I feel that it's commendable to be able to admit to being afraid or worried. True bravery is in powering through it and doing what you need to anyway.

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Here are my answers to that "Things People Don't Know About You" meme that's been going around. However, I could only think of five right now, even though I was supposed to do eight. If I can think of others, I'll post them, but for now five will just have to do. Also, I don't know if they're really things nobody knows about me, but they're little known facts to say the very least. 

1. Someone once told me that they were certain I was the Antichrist. They even tried to make me admit that I knew I was the Antichrist and that I was just waiting for my chance to take over the world. This person was 100% serious about this. As for me? I'm still not sure whether or not I'm incredibly insulted in regards to that or supremely flattered. On one hand, they thought I was pretty much the living embodiment of evil, but on the other, they thought I had the potential to take over the world. Tough call.

2. In high school, someone started a rumor that I had fake hair because they thought it was too pretty and too long to be real. For a long time after that, a lot of other kids tried to prove that the rumor was true. Some of the cruelest of them tried to set my ponytail on fire once. They apparently thought that if it was a wig, or a weave, or something, it wouldn't burn. I also had random girls run up to me and pull handfuls of my hair really hard for the same reason. I guess they thought it would come off or something. Good times.

3. I had some really weird guy that used to come into the shop where I used to work try repeatedly to get me to model for print ads for his bike shop. He sold like... Harleys and whatnot, I guess, and he wanted me to agree to be dressed up in leather and photographed draping myself all over some of the bikes. I declined, because I personally can't think of anything that would embarrass me more than having pictures of myself in skimpy leather outfits hanging up all over town, but this was nevertheless a running joke among my co-workers for years.

4. I'm borderline obsessed with old ephemeral films from the '40s and '50s -- you know, the ones that taught kids from back in the day how to groom themselves properly, behave in social situations, and basically be well-rounded, healthy individuals in every sense of the word. They're so interesting, not to mention completely surreal. It's a bit like opening a little window into the past that scares and amuses me in equal parts. I'm still reeling over the one that says no meal is as nutritious as it could be until it's slathered with butter. 

5. I think having a body is gross. I mean... really. It is. I honestly have to try not to think about the fact that I am indeed the not-so-proud owner of a bunch of squishy items like brains, and kidneys, and intestines, and ligaments. Plus, I find my body's natural urges -- for food, sex, sleep, and so forth -- to be supremely annoying most of the time. This is precisely the reason I want to be cremated when I die -- so the whole body thing can be truly and finally over with someday.

Oh, and just FYI? A couple of disclaimers in regards to a couple of the above statements.

1. My hair is indeed very real. Dyed? Yes. Fooled with so that I don't have to deal with my natural curls that I hate? Yes. Fake? Absolutely not. Each and every hair on my head actually grew out of my scalp inch by inch.

2. I am not the Antichrist to the best of my knowledge. Believe me when I say that if I were, I would very definitely not be able to resist bragging about it.

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I appear to be in a spontaneous "sharing" mood right now, and it's been ages since I posted any new pictures at all. I don't really change much, and I'm not much of a picture person anyway, so I guess I don't see the point a lot of the time. However, I'm sure it's nice for my friends to be able to see that there's a real person on the other end of all this babbling now and again.

That's just a little webcam capture from a few minutes ago -- nothing fancy. No make-up, no postwork or clean-up in Photoshop. Just me as I looked sitting in front of my computer working on a project a few minutes ago. It's the very same me you would have seen if you were sitting here with me. 

Back when I used to be more into posting photos and whatnot, I used to go through lots of trouble to look stunning and all, but these days I guess I'm just not that into spending a lot of time on my looks every morning. I really don't have it to spend these days, so I tend to save make-up and extra fuss for days when I'm going somewhere and planning to be around the general public. 

To be honest, I think I look fine without make-up. I don't know how or why, but I apparently haven't aged a day since high school. All that's changed about me even somewhat recently is my hair length. Right now, it appears to be a mere six inches away from being waist-length in the back and that's after this morning's trim. I swear my hair grows faster and thicker than a garden full of weeds.

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1. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Who says I ever plan on growing up? I think the secret to happiness lies in becoming responsible and mature while still remaining young at heart, and I honestly try to do that to the best of my ability. If you're talking career though, I'd like to continue growing and building on what I'm doing currently. I'll always write and I'll always make art because I love it so much. Those things have been part of my life since childhood and when I'm not actively doing them at a given time, I actually feel kind of lost.

I would also like to continue exploring more options that are related to my interest in astrology. I'm turning out to be really good at doing it on a professional basis, and it obviously merges well with my ability to express myself through both writing and art. I'd also like to someday explore more options in regards to combining my interest in writing with my interest in wine and food.

2. What did you want to be when you were younger? How does this compare with your life now and your vision of your future life?

When I was younger, I don't know that you could really call me very ambitious. I equated the idea of having a career with being chained to a desk and living at the mercy of some boss whom you may or may not get along with. That was before I found out it was possible to find ways to do things you love and that you're good at within parameters that feel comfortable to you. 

I did nevertheless half-heartedly consider several options as far as a career path goes, since we all have to do something. I majored in psychology for a while, and thought about becoming a therapist. I also considered turning my love for animals into a veterinary career. I even actually worked as a veterinary technician for a while, but nothing I tried was a very good fit. At heart, I guess I've always been a quiet, creative type.

As far as how all that compares to where I wound up, I guess I thought I'd probably be directionless, or else trapped in a job that didn't really fit me, for the rest of my life. I never imagined that I'd actually find work that I love and actually look forward to what the future might bring my way from a career standpoint.

3. Are there dreams you've given up on for reasons other than changing desires? What made you give up on them, and how do you feel about them in hindsight?

Like I said, I don't know that I ever had "dreams" in the way most young people do. In many ways, I'm learning to dream for the first time at this stage of my life because I'm only just now reaching a point where I'm exploring different places to live, career options, and choices in regards to how I can live my life. I had no idea there were so many choices out there. In regards to dreams though, I don't believe in giving up on anything you really want or believe in. It turns out that a lot of things are easier to accomplish than they seem at first.

4. Are there things (like marriage or college) that you've always believed would be part of your life? Did you get them? Are you still looking? Have you moved on?

Well, I guess most of my thoughts about the future when I was young revolved around the idea of being in a major relationship or a marriage. However, after a bunch of failed relationships, I've kind of given up the ghost in regards to ever finding a perfect one. I'm just not someone that can make my life about someone else, nor do I want to be anymore. I do still value the idea and the experience of being in a relationship, but I no longer expect to get total fulfillment out of it. I've learned to turn to my career and personal achievements for that, and I have to admit that my mother was right. That's a much better, healthier way to go.

I also suppose I hoped travel would be a bigger part of my life by now, but alas. I've lacked the funds to really make that happen. I also think I've lacked the independence, but all of that has been changing dramatically in recent years. Traveling is something I've always wanted to do a lot of in my life -- especially in regards to Europe. I'd honestly even like to try living in England, Ireland, Scotland, or France if the opportunity ever presents itself. I have definitely not given up on that dream. I still am very serious about making it happen someday.

5. What is part of your life now that you would never have imagined as a child or teenager?

Probably responsibility. As I touched on above, I always imagined myself married to a husband that could and would take care of all that stuff for me, but life really didn't work out that way. I didn't see or want a career, a full life like I have now, or any sort of variety and change at all. I guess I imagined my entire life as turning out very different from the way it did, but I'm hardly disappointed. I don't think I would have been truly happy as a common hausfrau, to be honest, and it really would have been a shame. Even if I do say so myself, I'm really very talented in a number of different ways, and it would have been a shame not to have gotten a chance to really explore what I could do with those talents.

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It's hard for me to believe that yet another year has gone by. My mom was right when she said that one day when I was older, a year wouldn't seem like an eternity anymore. Well, I'm definitely older now and I'm beginning to see her point. As is typical for me around this time, I've been thinking a lot about all the changes I've been through in my lifetime -- not just recently, but over the years, and there certainly have been a lot of them. I've also been thinking about some of the lessons I've learned over that period of time. The following are just a few that I've found to be applicable to at least my life.

• Nothing is permanent or guaranteed... and I do mean nothing. I don't think it's healthy to be so attached to any person or situation that you don't know what you'd do or who you'd be without it. If life ever decides to pull the rug out from under you, it will be a horrific experience for you. If you're lucky, you'll never have to learn this lesson the hard way like I did, but if you do manage to embrace it somehow? You're free. You can literally be anyone or do anything. It's like the whole world just opens up.



• Lots of change and cycling in one's life is not necessarily a bad thing. In regards to some of us -- like me -- it's necessary in order to fully become who we are meant to be. I used to worry that my trying on so many faces, so many identities, and so many hats meant I was no one and that I'd never figure out who I was truly meant to be. I now know that the answer is that I was meant to be all of those girls -- just at different times in my life.



• That it was necessary for me to be somewhat immersed in the superficial and material at one point in my life in order to be able to reject it and embrace something deeper at another. I've stopped seeing my days during which beauty, and greed, and charm were my whole life and my living as wasted time spent following the wrong path. I wouldn't be the same person I am now if I hadn't had those experiences and gained the depth I have now as a result.



• That in a few more years I won't be the same person I am now and that's OK. I'm not meant to be the same for a lifetime -- none of us are. I'm enjoying being who I am at this moment, but I'm also learning to view becoming a different version of myself in the future as an exciting adventure to look forward to as opposed to something horrific that I should dread.



• That the most important attribute I ever developed was an open mind. Some of the things I've been through in my lifetime would have broken me if hadn't. Although I won't go so far as to say I don't ever worry about any tragedy or loss that might be waiting for me in my future, I do feel better knowing for certain that whatever happens, I'll be able to get through it just fine.



• That it's not actually that difficult to get on the road to achieving the things you've always wanted to. It's just hard to actually make the decision that you're going to get out there and do it. Once I just got off my ass and decided to take certain things off my bucket list and start making them happen now, it was just a matter of working hard enough. There was no golden ticket I needed to have the way I always thought -- no magic wand. The only thing that had been stopping me before was me and all my illusions in regards to how the world works and what it takes to get along in it.

This list will continue to grow as the years pass, because the "learning" part of life is really never over with. Who'd want it to be? It's rather exciting and I'm riding the wave rather well, even if I do say so myself.

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