Matter of Opinion

Everyone seems to have an opinion on what I should be doing. How I should be handling life.

And regardless of what I do, someone… somewhere… thinks I've done it wrong.

It's starting to get really flippin' old.


I'm continually pushed from all directions, squeezed until I can no longer breathe or find the oxygen I need to be me.

Instead, I become a shell of myself… keeping all but those on a "need to know basis" out of the loop and in turn, denying myself the ability to live life the way I would. The way I want.

Don't get me wrong. Some of the changes are wonderful. Some opinions matter more than others.

Overall, life has been fantastic.

But the last few days have been hard again. Maybe it's just growing pains. Maybe it's just a rebalance of energy… of life. People push and I have to find the strength to push back.

See, the stupid thing is, I get myself into this mess… because I care.

I care about my family's opinion. I care about my husband's opinion… my kids', my friend's. And when they clash in their opinion, no matter what I do, someone will be upset with me. And really… the only one hurt is me. I feel like no matter what I do, no matter what I choose-- even if I know it's right-- it will be somehow, some way… wrong.

After a while… it wears on you.

It's as if I'm not allowed to have my own opinion. My own life. Make my own decisions.

But I'm done with that.

This is my life.

The only opinion that matters in the end is mine. I will take all others into consideration, make no mistake.

But do not ever make me feel guilty for differing my opinion from yours.

It doesn't make you wrong. It doesn't make me wrong.

It makes me independent.

A World of Change

If someone told me a year ago…

I would be divorced, lost close friends over perceptions, living in my parent's second home and working with an immigration attorney because I'm about to marry a man originally from England, whom I happen to have met on Twitter…

I would have called the mental institution. 

But this is how my life has played out.

Don't get me wrong. I knew last year that things were not right in my previous marriage. I knew there were things I had to change in order to reclaim my own personal happiness. That's not to say that life was all bad, it wasn't.

But it wasn't satisfying.

It was missing something that my soul was longing for and I couldn't make that soul song quiet down. Something was pulling me… or rather, as time when on, it turns out, someone.

I met the most amazing man in the oddest of places - Twitter.

Since December, he's been in the United States with me. Unless you've experienced something like this, I cannot properly express how beautiful life has been with him. How seamless - even amidst the craziness. How in sync we are with each other. It's been as if we've known each other all along. There's been no question of "Is this right." Instead, we are just one day away from being married and I can't wait!

The past six months of my life have been a whirlwind. Or maybe just a complete daze.

Now that things are winding down, I'm allowing myself some time to look back. To reflect and recognize how far I've come. How far my life has come. How my world has changed.

Honestly, I'm surprised with myself. And actually, quite proud that what I've done; I've done for the right reasons.

So everyone involved -- not just me -- could be happy.

Even if for now, there is only a handful of people who see it… I know the truth inside myself.

There are, however, elements in this I could not have foreseen as I took those first few steps on this new journey... I've lost people I thought were close close friends because they couldn't look outside the box of what they deemed normality. Because they've wanted to choose sides when really, if they looked closer-- they would have seen that the only side is their own. What makes them happy. Did they want to maintain friendships between everyone? Or do they not. I'm not on bad terms with my ex. So I don't understand the desire to cast loyalties when none were being asked of anyone. Additionally, I've alienated myself from family members because of the same reason. Or perhaps, because they're too afraid to ask the question of why.

I've even had to step away from writing. Away from Twitter. Away from blogging.

At least, until I could wrap my head around all that's gone on. All that I am becoming. All that my world now entails.

I've tried to return to writing… but have failed at that. Mostly because my focuses are too spread out. My energies too scattered. Yet, somewhere underneath, I know that it's going to make a resurgence. I've felt it for a long while. The timing just wasn't right yet, no matter how much I tried to force it. Other areas needed my attention first. I get that now.

So, it is in this-- my last day before marrying the man who stole my heart and changed my world-- that I take time to reflect. To breathe life into my own life's story before moving forward into fiction.

Because I know that the pen of things to come lies waiting.

Tomorrow is just the beginning. <3

I really hope "normal" isn't contagious.

I find it intriguing the way people behave, myself included.

For years and years, I struggled onward daily… doing what was expected of me. What I thought people wanted…

What I thought I wanted…

This year, while writing Pendomus, many things have come into sharp focus. One of them, is this concept of being happy.


While I enjoy the person I've become… the interests I have, writing, the way I work, etc…

I've longed for more.

Yet… the people around me have often times pulled me back; "Want MORE? Why can't you just be happy with what you have?"

Here's the thing… I am not a statue. I am ever changing… and being in that state of evolution, how can I possibly stay happy without embracing the changes? Without searching for more? Without seeing how I've evolved and incorporating it into the way I think/want/act?

Life is a journey… meant to be walked with eyes wide open.

So many people, live their lives, every single day… without being present. Without… being.

That's not me.

I hope that's NEVER me.

I want to continue my life, seeing all the possibilities… seeing how I can make anything work. Even my challenges.

Going through a divorce, and seeing first hand the devastation, hasn't been an easy thing. It's probably been the most challenging thing I've ever faced. However, I'm walking through it with a clear head (at least, most of the time) and that makes it easier. I can see a bigger picture than what's happening right now… and yet, I am still allowing myself to be fully present in this moment of change.

Some people find it cliche… and maybe it is… but… things happen for a reason. I truly believe that and see the patterns in it. Maybe not necessarily the "God has a plan for us" kinda a way… but in the "Our lives unfold as they should" kinda way. And perhaps even that really is just a play on semantics.

People enter and exist as they should… There are lessons we all bring to each other… Even adversity makes us stronger… Yet, for some reason, people are afraid of change. Why?

Why is humanity perfectly accepting of a completely predictable existence? I don't get that.

Where's the fun? The challenge? The lesson?

Can we truly be alive if we never really live?

If this life… this one moment in time… is all we ever have… why are we wasting it?

My advice? Get out there and live. Chase down whatever brings you joy and makes you happy.

There's no time like the present.