Life Lessons of 2013

Well, it has been six months since my last post. I guess you can say that I can add being a more loyal blogger to my list of New Year’s Resolutions. But I figured with the year coming to an end I would fill everyone in on the past year. To say that 2013 was a big year for me would be an understatement. I made one of the biggest decisions of my life when moved to Roosevelt. There have been good times, bad times, and a lot of first times. I have learned a lot about life and a lot about myself. I could probably go on all day but I don’t think anyone would stay interested so here are the top few things I’ve learned in 2013.

Family is everything.

It seems like the older I get the more I realize that the most important people in my life are the people I call family. I don’t think I was prepared to leave my family behind when I made the big move to the Basin. Sure, I’ve been away from home for the past 4 years when I was in college but I always knew I would eventually graduate and come home. This time was different because we all knew there was a pretty good chance I would be here the rest of my life. Every weekend I spend visiting them makes me realize even more how much they all mean to me. The “real world” has made me recognize that my family has always been there for me and has taught me to value my time with them.

Graduating college is not the end of the world.

If I were writing this post a year ago, I would have a completely different attitude about this. Graduating college has been one of the biggest transitions of my life. It was definitely hard going from having a party to go to every weekend and no worries to not knowing what I was doing with my life and feeling like a loser staying home on a Saturday night. The past year has taught me to enjoy every phase of my life. College was a fun part of my life but now I have bigger things to accomplish and different kind of memories to make.

It’s all about perspective.

Moving out here, I have realized that I truly am a city girl and probably always will be. There are plenty of things I miss about living in Salt Lake County (like Chick-Fil-A and shopping) but if everyone else who lives here can learn to adjust then so can I. It’s all about the way you view things. From my 10 months of living out here I have learned to love some things about this small town – like the fact that it takes five minutes to get anywhere in town, or being a part of a community that is extremely generous, or the professional opportunities I have been given that wouldn’t have happened in a big city.

Trust me, I am still getting familiar with Roosevelt and I’ll probably never feel completely adjusted. But the people who are from here seem to be perfectly happy. It all starts with your outlook.

No job is exactly what you imagine.

I don’t claim to be an expert in this subject by any means but the past year and a half has taught me a lot about what to expect in careers.  When I graduated college in 2012 I had no plan. I had a few ideas about what I’d like to do and honestly I didn’t think it would be that hard to find my “dream job.” Well, what I have found is that even dream jobs are not as amazing as they may seem. I have friends who have accepted positions doing amazing things and most of them have ended up hating their jobs. Earlier this year Brady had the opportunity to work with the Atlanta Falcons as an NFL Scout. In his words, this would be his “dream job.” He turned it down. As much as he would’ve enjoyed it, he knows that it was not the life he wanted.    

In 2013, I have had two jobs that could have led to promising careers. And both have thrown a few surprises at me – both good and bad. It’s exciting (and also scary) knowing that you never know what to expect.

I sort of feel like an old woman writing this post, talking about careers and life lessons and all. But it’s just where I am at in my life, I guess. We will see what 2014 has in store.

Happy New Year!