Salt Water

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

I'm a beach baby.

The beach is my comfort. It is my place to go when the world seems like it makes no sense. It scares me that tonight, my haven is letting me down. I can't seem to shut my brain off, and the blogosphere doesn't judge. At least it doesn't judge to my face, so I'll take it.

Adulthood scares me.

I feel more unprepared for this than anything else I've encountered in my life. It seems menial, really, because the only accomplishment I have to my name is graduating from nursing school. And to me, that's massive...but to the rest of the world, it's just another associate degree that "anyone" could accomplish. (rolls eyes, while scoffing....i dare you, unsuspecting public, go for it. prove me wrong).  I feel like a broken record most of the time, because really - I'm not even in it anymore. That's done. And honestly, I never thought I would be in a place where I would say I miss it.

I think I miss the predictability and stability most. All I've never known is school, and now that I don't have it anymore I feel like I'm floundering. I can't find a job, and I'm still living with my parents. Granted, that really just puts me in the "norm" for college graduates my age, but I really banked on walking into a job in nursing and finally having my life start.

I had this idealistic notion (I don't know why I keep having those, really) that I would find a job right away with an excellent salary that would support my lifestyle that mainly consists of enjoying alcohol with my girls. So far all I've done is rack up my credit card debt even higher than it already is (yes, apparently it's possible) enjoying my alcohol and groupie habit.

So when do things start to come together? Do they ever? I think that question is at the crux of my non-stop deliberations. I certainly hope it does, because as much as I want to deny the inevitable truth, I'm not going to be in my 20s for the rest of my life.

An even scarier thought, one which I really only entertain when I'm alone on the beach at midnight, is when does the profession start to feel right? I REFUSE to acknowledge that I went through all the shit I did to walk out feeling just as lost (if not moreso) than I did when I started 2 years ago. I think that's another reason I want to land a job so desperately...I just want the proverbial "this-was-totally-the-right-decision" moment. AKA, I want to be happy. Content.

For now, though, I'm going to let my mind continue to wander while I let Isak Dinesen's theory take effect...because the tears haven't stopped for hours and the sea is the only thing I have to distract me.

An Impasse

You know, I never realized how quickly life really happens. You work so hard for something, anything, really and before you realize it...you've achieved/accomplished whatever that goal you set out to do was..

I graduated from Nursing school last month.

I passed my board exam three days ago.

I sit here in the midst of job applications, piles of pushed aside debt, a living situation that drives me nutsy most of the time, and weird and wonderful friendships that keep me on my toes.

I've never known what it is to live a life that doesn't revolve around some form of school. I'm not sure how to really go about doing so. I have a degree, and am certified in a trade that will, at the very least, set me up for a comfortable living.

So what do I do now? It seems so menial to find a job, settle down, have petty fights, and just exist. Is this really what it's all about? I never really thought of myself as adventurous...I really thought that my biggest adventure would be nursing school, and that I would be okay with that. But now, I'm just blah. Just here. Just living the daily grind, paying bills and being an "adult." I've done it for 3 days, and I'm exhausted, bored, and ready for something else.

Who would have known? I'm sure settling myself into the profession and a new job will be adventures, as well as finding a specialty and pursing it..blah, blah, blah.

"Now is the winter of our discontent," apparently.

So, I'm gonna take some inspiration from Gina and make a list - a list full of things I want to do, more goals I want to accomplish, and then I'll share it. Maybe some of you can help me with them...

It's time to actually start living, so I've finally decided to take the first step...

Shit, that's scary!

The Dilemma

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk rejection.

To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.

Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave.

He has forfeited his freedom.

Only a person who takes risks is free.

- Author Unknown

I'm That Girl.

I'm that girl....

I push doors that clearly say PULL....

I go left, when I should go right...

I laugh harder when I try to explain why I'm laughing....

I walk into a room and forget why I was there....

I ALWAYS count on my fingers in math...

I say it is a long story when it's really not....

I cry a lot more than you think I do...

I care about people who don't care about me...

I listen to you even when you don't listen to me...

And a hug always makes me feel better...

Yes, I'm that girl!! 

♥

Beach Baby

I'm a beach baby.

For as long as I can remember, I've been near the beach. When I was a child, mom and dad took us to the beach all the time.

I don't know when it happened, but at some point the beach became comfort. It wasn't until I moved to Tallahassee when I realized that. You know - the whole "you-don't-realize-what-you-have" thing. I found when I came back the first time, the only place that brought me peace was not my childhood home (although, I don't know why it surprised me...my childhood home is probably one of the most stressful environments I frequent), it was the beach.

There are very few places on this planet that instill a sense of wonder and calm than a beach - more specifically the ocean. On a gorgeous day, you can see the possibilities afforded to us as you gaze out.

But it's the cloudy days, when it's just about to rain, that get me the most. Those days where it's palpable in the air that something big is going to happen. Today was one of those days. School has been beating me to a pulp, and now that the finish line is so near it seems it's harder to cross every hurdle that continues to be tossed in our direction. Home life is miserable, and that's putting it nicely.

But that ocean - man was it majestic. I'll hold on to that.

Eggshells

Sometimes I wonder how my life gets so messed up. Am I supposed to make this many mistakes? Am I even making this many mistakes or is it just a case of me over reacting.

I've always said that my friendships mean the most to me, and yet I feel like I'm constantly letting people down.

My question is this: how do I know when to be selfish, and when to not. And why do I always feel like I need to perpetually walk on eggshells, even around the people who supposedly will never judge me. And will that compulsion ever go away?

Just Be

I went through this phase once that nobody knows about. Well, a few people do, but they're all random and for all intents and purposes people I met in the phase, but never in person. People who I grew to love and probably know me better than my so-called best friends do. It was a time where I was supposed to be exploring and experiencing and growing, but didn't. Soon, those people grew up and moved on, and I find myself in a similar position I promised myself I wouldn't get back into when I started nursing school. 

I wouldn't say that I've always been the most out-spoken and confident person. Actually, the opposite can be argued; no matter what front I put up or how much acting I do, I'm painfully shy. When I was a teenager, I somehow managed to surround myself with people that, through association, had to force myself to get over myself and just be. That's high school - sink or swim. I swam, barely, and incredibly self-consciously. In retrospect, those years that I have always considered the best of my life were probably the ones that caused me to drown. I lied a lot back then, and I'm sorry for that. Most of my "friends" probably knew...it's most likely a factor that let to the dissolving of said friendships. All I've ever wanted, still want, is to be that confident person that people want to be around while maintaining me.

Why is that so hard? To just be.

For some people, it's not. To them, it's synonymous with breathing. They live for adventure and new friends and experiences because they don't want life to pass them by. But what about the people who want the experience and the adventure but need a little more push, or just some encouragement? 

By the time I finished my first semester of college, I had fully converted into an introverted person that held no recognition. I had gained over 30 pounds, and felt so lost I didn't even realize I was lost. That went on for years. The realization just came recently, actually, and it's been 2 years in the making after I made my first scary life change. My "best friends" had gone to different schools and stopped answering my phone calls, and my roommate was the polar opposite of me. I went to class, went back to my dorm and ate. Repeat. Then I found an online community based on writing and I met wonderful people. 

People who I could pretend that I was confident and worldly with, and they couldn't call my bluff. They made me feel accepted and toward the end, cherished and included. Then they moved on too. So I moved back home and pretended that even though I don't hear from them, at least I had the memories. Yeah, not so much.

Nursing school has been such a blessing in disguise, because even though it sucks and it's hard, and I cry more than ever (which is hard to believe, really, because I already was a crier..), it's forced me to find myself. In the mean time, I have made life long friends and found self-confidence in myself that I didn't even know existed. I suppose this is growing up. I kind of like it, even if there are sucky parts, there are good ones too!

I still haven't mastered the ability to "just be." I'm not sure I ever will, to be honest, but I'd like to try. And I would like to thank those who helped get me here, even if they don't know I'm doing it. And I'd like to thank those in my past who did leave - not in a malicious way but in a "thank-you-for-forcing-me-to-grow-up" way; even if I believe you went around it the wrong and most hurtful way, it was effective.