Life goes on...

One day about a few months ago, I woke up and realized that this is my life. Everyday, I wake up, go to work, do my thing, come home, rest, and do the same thing again the next day.  I guess I thought that there would be a next step, something that would await me as I went through my daily routine, as if there would be a top 5 law school chasing me down and begging me to get my JD or a kick-ass job opening coming through to my inbox or my boyfriend deciding that he would finally move to NYC so we could be together.  But the truth is, that rarely happens. We are at an age where if we want something, we have to work for it, but at the same time, we have the power to change our circumstances to get it. You have to study for months before you take the LSAT; you have to apply to 50 jobs before you hear back from 1; and you will have to make hard decisions that you think will make you happiest. So after six exciting, tiring, unexplainable, unforgettable, beautiful years in NYC, I finally said goodbye. Life is happening and passing us all. The truth is that I don't need my JD, and I don't need a kick-ass job; my job is just fine. What I did need is my guy, and I refused to let my life keep passing by without him.  

I've been in Hershey for 2 months now, and I am so, so unbelievably happy.  It was the best decision I've made in a long while, and I'm mad at myself for not moving earlier.  That's not to say it wasn't hard because it was.  It was hard to leave my closest friends and church.  It was hard to make new friends, and the move was hard financially and logistically.  And it was so worth it.  So my advice to you is to go.  Life is what you decide to make of it.  If you're unhappy, change it.  You're young.  You have nothing preventing you from moving to Asia or Europe or California.  You can change your job if you dread going to work every morning.  Life goes on, and it will keep going on.

Happy Wednesday.

Ali

Living Below Your Means

One thing I learned during a college financial seminar was to always live below my means.  So even though I can afford a Grade A product, I should always go one level below to a Grade B.  It's obviously much harder said than done, and personally speaking, this is one of the most difficult things for me to do.

I've realized in the last few days that living by this rule will make budgeting a lot easier.  Once you start living below your means, you will naturally save more. Usually once people get promoted, they upgrade a lot of things in their lives.  They will get a nicer car or a nicer home or nicer clothes and bags. And while upgrading isn't a horrible thing, sometimes (usually) we start spending right up to our means, which makes budgeting harder.  Mo' money, mo' problems.

This post is really a reminder to myself.  It's not just about finances.  God calls us to be selfless and to live humbly.  He calls us to give more than we take and to be thankful for everything that we do have.  He gives and takes away and for good reason.

So no puppy for me. 

The end.