(no subject)
Two personally significant dates were this past week. The 18th marked my third year with Daniel. He wrote a very sweet post about it here, including thoughts about the other date, my birthday, which was yesterday. We didn't do anything fancy for the 18th, due to my school and his work schedules, but we relished each other's company after he got home. Friday morning he made me a vegetarian chili omlette, leftover from the chili he made the night before. He served it to me in bed with what I dubbed a perfect cup of chai. I had a few unexpected happy birthdays over the course of the week due to facebook. When I came in to Starbucks last night, a bunch of his coworkers wished me a happy birthday. Apparently he told everyone, which I thought was sweet. I don't really advertise my birthday much, so it was a bit of a surprise to be well wished by so many. I recieved thoughtful, practical gifts from a number of people, and those are much appreciated.
I thought a lot about the fact that I'm now 24. Seven years ago, this age seemed like a long time away. At the time I was struggling with the fact that my parents were refusing to sign my FAFSA, making the pursuit of my education difficult. I looked back and contemplated where those years went so quickly.
1 year - senior year of higschool. It was hard, but I look back on it as a good year
1 year and 6 months - 3 painful semesters of college - a lot of emotional agony. Angst, I suppose, or what we refer to as hell in Buddhism
1 year - no school, confusion about what I was doing in many realms. Began to sincerely love myself.
6 months - fell in love with Daniel and moved to Boston
2 years - lived in Boston with Daniel and began practicing Buddhism
6 months -moved to Western Mass and started school again
I have changed so much, overcome so much, improved so much, transformed so much. While it is still hard for me to be patient and wait, looking back helps me better understand that time passes more quickly than it appears to, and that my life can continually change and improve. I am grateful for the perspectives of my experiences and difficulties. I look foward to the future, in which I further strive to expand my capacities for happiness and creating happiness for humanity as well. I am so grateful for the presence of many wonderful people in my life. At this time I would particularly like to appreciate the people whom I have known for a quarter of my life or more. I have infinite gratitude for your loving patience, having compassion for me even when I have been at my most confused, sad, bitter, or destructive. I look forward to many more years of friendship. For those who read this that I have not known for quite so long, I appreciate you too, and the potential we have to further develop our connections over time.
I thought a lot about the fact that I'm now 24. Seven years ago, this age seemed like a long time away. At the time I was struggling with the fact that my parents were refusing to sign my FAFSA, making the pursuit of my education difficult. I looked back and contemplated where those years went so quickly.
1 year - senior year of higschool. It was hard, but I look back on it as a good year
1 year and 6 months - 3 painful semesters of college - a lot of emotional agony. Angst, I suppose, or what we refer to as hell in Buddhism
1 year - no school, confusion about what I was doing in many realms. Began to sincerely love myself.
6 months - fell in love with Daniel and moved to Boston
2 years - lived in Boston with Daniel and began practicing Buddhism
6 months -moved to Western Mass and started school again
I have changed so much, overcome so much, improved so much, transformed so much. While it is still hard for me to be patient and wait, looking back helps me better understand that time passes more quickly than it appears to, and that my life can continually change and improve. I am grateful for the perspectives of my experiences and difficulties. I look foward to the future, in which I further strive to expand my capacities for happiness and creating happiness for humanity as well. I am so grateful for the presence of many wonderful people in my life. At this time I would particularly like to appreciate the people whom I have known for a quarter of my life or more. I have infinite gratitude for your loving patience, having compassion for me even when I have been at my most confused, sad, bitter, or destructive. I look forward to many more years of friendship. For those who read this that I have not known for quite so long, I appreciate you too, and the potential we have to further develop our connections over time.