(** Warning...unabashed girly post** )
I don't know what it is about this time of year...whether its the anticipation of summer and the fact that the cold just won't go away. Or the fact that we're all in the throes of our mid-twenties and requisite quarter-life crisis', but every single one of my girlfriends seem to be smack in the middle of a huge depression. I'm just kind of coming out of mine, no small thanks to a huge nervous breakdown following a bad day at work two weeks ago today, resulting in me crying (finally!) to my mom on the street corner, right in front of a huge Starbucks window where everyone inside had a front row seat to my hysterical sobbing. Until I moved it inside because of the cold and just gave them the goods first hand. Good times. And that's not mentioning the cab driver who got to witness it from the onset and received two dollars and two bags of potato chips for his trouble. But that's another story for another time.
No, all my friends feel unfulfilled with their lives and it's tough. On one hand, it's good to know you're not alone...on the other, you just wish it could go away and you could feel normal again. I think, unfortunately, this times not so coincidentally with being able to wear a tank top and flip-flops again, but it also has to do with just pushing through this uncertain time of life and trying to enjoy what's in front of you, while it's there. Cause for the most part, life is good. It's very easy to get caught up in what's not good and focus on that instead.
So, that's why I was very pleased with my iPod this morning when the first song it chose out of the gate was the Dixie Chicks' "Taking the Long Way." Not only may this be the best song ever (sorry Nelly Furtado but Natalie Maines and I have been tight since my high school days), but I also just bought the Dixie Chicks' documentary "Shut Up & Sing" which took all of two seconds to make it into one of my favorite movies of all time. If ever you need to feel better, find inspiration or just need a push to stand up for yourself, watch this movie. I've been thinking about it non-stop since I watched it and it's really helped me stay focused on the positive.
Anyways, for all my girls (and anyone else for that matter) out there who just need a reminder that it's okay to do things your own way, no matter how much longer it may take...Natalie Maines, as always, has got the answer.
My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes
Where their parents live
But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow
I hit the highway in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling
Lived like a gypsy
Six strong hands on the steering wheel
I've been a long time gone now
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
But I've always found my way somehow
By taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around
I met the queen of whatever
Drank with the Irish and smoked with the hippies
Moved with the shakers
Wouldn't kiss all the asses that they told me to
No I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow
It's been two long years now
Since the top of the world came crashing down
And I'm getting' it back on the road now
But I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
The long
The long way around
Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself
But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow
Well, I never seem to do it like anybody else
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
If you ever want to find me I can still be found
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around
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1 comment:
Seriously... this was AWESOME.. I being one of your single girlfriends who feels like they have been in an ongoing quarter-life crisis. It has gotten better than it used to be given some choices I had to make in my life what it came to people and goals for my future, but its still always there lingering in the back of my mind everyday. I'm not living my dream... I merely doing a job everyday to get a pay check and pass the time until I get to do some fun activity at night or on the weekends... thats not living. I saw this quote once that I actually have on a post-it on my monitor at work:
"If you're thinking you are not doing. Doing is what moves our goals forward. It transforms the observer on the sidelines into a real player on the field." It really puts things into perspective. I also had a new year's resolution to always look at the bright side of things as opposed to reflecting on the negative (as hard as that is). I think volunteering has helped me with this as you see first hand that you could have it so much worse. I know I'm going on a rant, but its great to know that I'm not that only one out there going through this... thanks Cindy Adams.
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