The Day I Grew Up

I am twenty years old and I just started really growing up.  It is hard to come to the reality that your parents will not always be there for you to make your decisions.  Sooner or later one must leave the family and build his or her own life.  This reality hit me the other night when within two days I had called my mom with many problems.  First I was homesick, next I was angry, and the next day I did not know how to handle some situations around me.  So I thought it would be a great idea to call my mother on a Monday night.  Soon after I tried telling her everything my Dad got on the phone and said, "Michaela, you have to grow up.  You have to make some decisions on your own.  They have to be your own and if they were not the right ones then you just have to move on and pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you always."  These are words of wisdom.  They were exactly what I needed.  No more pretend about being grown up.  This is real life in the real world. Well shucks.

So what does this mean? It means that every time that I want to call my mom about a problem I should first learn how to handle it on my own.  She has seven other kids at home.  This means that when I want to go do something I can just go do it instead of asking my parents what they think.  This means that I can hang out with who I want to. I can talk to boys that I think are cool.  I can try new things.  I can begin new activities. In turn all of these things should then reflect what my parents raised me to do and be like.  

It is hard to begin something new and to really learn to grow up.  But it is life and it will happen whether you want it to happen or not.  So instead of moping about what we cannot change I made a resolution within myself to start living it up.  No, not by partying but by forcing myself to go out of my comfort zone.  This was started by going to workout with some guys then going to dinner with them.  First off this is what I have wanted for a long time but second off it placed me outside of my comfort zone. This lead to conversations that opened up some more questions in my life at the same time of answering some questions I have had for many years.  So this helped me know that I can make more of what I have now.

So for the next month my goal is to meet more people and to try to go out of my comfort zone.  I want to bring the light to many people and not to only be closed in on myself.  I am learning that other people have things to offer.  People bring other perspectives to life that I may not have.  Thus, I need to start seeing this and drink in the joy that others have also.  It is hard in college not to turn in on one's self and become a one man for himself deal.  It would be easier but if we are truly trying to better ourselves than we cannot turn in on ourselves.  So spend time in prayer, ask God to help you, and live it up!

Til next time!
~A girl chasing her dreams