Work is third

The other week, my sister and I got complimenting tattoos. I got the moon and she got the sun. There's a lovely quote I read once that I was drawn to right before we went under the needle: "You and I share the same sky; that's how I sleep at night." They're still healing, so we're staying out of the pool and sun for a little longer -- meaning we are both as pale as ever -- but I am obsessed with them. I love having another thing that ties me and my sister together. As if we didn't have enough evidence that we're super close.

Work (as a tangential update) is still crazy. Most of my week is spent working -- and it's crazy and hectic and exhausting but I love it. Really and truly, I love it. The people I work with are the kindest and most fun people I could ever hope to be surrounded by! Every day, even the hard ones, I look around and think about how lucky I am to be where I am, with the people I am with. But honestly, work is taking up a good amount of my time. As I was getting used to this new schedule of mine, I realized I had started to let some things slip. I was forgetting to spend as much time with family and friends, because the time I had off I wanted to relax and do nothing. Which I still do (I'm doing it today); I do get a certain pleasure of telling people I did absolutely nothing at all with my day off. But I was letting other things I love slip.

Reading, for one. Writing, for another. I hadn't finished a book in way too long, so this week I opened one that had been sitting on my shelf for about a month and finally started reading it. Now I have about fifty pages of this 640-paged book left.

And the whole "remembering to actually talk to people who you don't only work with" thing is getting better. I'm working on saving up some of my energy to spend on friends and family, because I miss seeing them as much as I used to. And no matter how much I love work, I don't want that to be the only thing in my life. I need to remember that and make a conscious effort to say yes to spending time with people, even when I'm very tired and would much rather say no, I'm going to go nap. I won't remember that nap or how tired I am in fifty years; chances are I'll remember spending time with my friends.

In the wise words of Leslie Knope...

“We need to remember what's important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn't matter, but work is third.”

Growth

For the last two weeks, it's been stormy and gray. Today, the sun came out, and with it, I've come to a sappy realization that I'm really, really happy with where I am in my life. I've come a long way, and I'm pretty proud of myself.

Okay, so I'm still stressed about figuring this whole "adult" thing out. But I'm guessing that's more of a fake-it-till-ya-make-it situation. No one seems to know what they're doing anyway. You just get really good at pretending until suddenly things start to actually work out. AND THINGS ARE WORKING OUT REALLY WELL LATELY! Not to jinx it, but I'm getting really excited about what 2016 is doing with me, and I hope the trend continues. I don't think I've ever been in such a good place with both my work, friends, and personal life.

A lot has happened since my last update in March. A lot of good things. The biggest news: I got a promotion at work. When I started out as a seasonal associate, I never would have guessed I'd be in a manager role six months later. Retail work is hard. It's exhausting. But it's also kind of the best. Last September when I interviewed for my job, I had no idea that I would fall in love with my work the way I did -- or that I'd become close friends with the wonderful girls I work with. But I did.

With my work, I've managed to find a level of control over my stress and anxiety. The financial stability helps, but also knowing that I'm capable of doing all that I've done has instilled a level in confidence in myself I haven't had before. I've grown a lot since I let my anxiety run my life, and I'm not done growing. Like I said before, anxiety is a constant battle, but I'm still fighting. I'm surrounding myself with good people, and I'm letting that intention work its way through the rest of my life.

Summer is coming closer, and with it, I want to focus on being happy and letting go of any negativity that managed to hold onto me for so long. My sister is home for the summer and she's been filling our apartment with green things. (See above.) And they're growing! (See above.) Next step is to find great food to eat, to feel better and healthier and more energetic. And water! Drinking more water -- that'll always be on my list. I'm also pulling out my camera more (read: camera, not phone) to take pictures. I always forget to do that, and I really want to have more pictures of my friends and my favorite moments so I can relive it all.

This summer will be the best, busiest, and craziest one yet. Bring it on.