looking ahead

{via}

if you know me in person or have been following my blog for a minute now, you will know that holidays make me all reflective and shit.  well, i am a reflective person to begin with but holidays and birthdays bring out that seriousness that i refuse to deal with because i don't even know how to be serious sometimes.  i am always laughing, pulling pranks and cracking up.

let's see, let's see, let's see ... 2012 has been an interesting year for me with many twists and great opportunities for learning, mostly rediscovering myself and having a great reminder of what was really important for me personally and professionally.

1.  i have learned and confirmed that i will never sacrifice my personal beliefs in values just to be in a relationship.  there was nothing "bad" that happened in my last relationship but i just realized that what we had was not enough to stay in it.  at least on my perspective.

2.  i use my mind in most decision making process, but once i have figured that out, i use my heart to follow my dreams.

3.  no matter how things end, i am not a bitter person.  

4.  i am willing to make a career change at this point in my life.  i also learned that i am willing to take something a little less than what i am making to move on to that next chapter of my life.  money is not everything to me.

5.  my real life facebook friends sucked balls for me this year.  i had never had any drama since signing up for this social media.  this year, i discovered that some people will blast you out in public to save their asses from the shit they created themselves.  i realized that in real life, i know how to function as a delete button.

6.  i have always believed that if you make time, you will accomplish what you want to do.  this was true to me especially with friends who do not live in the same city.  money doesn't grow on trees but i will make it work to come out your way if you put forth every effort to keep up a friendship.

7.  i love my life, my current situation and everything else around it.  it is not perfect but i wouldn't have it any other way.  i am grateful for learning how to live on my own, do things on my own and find happiness that way.  i am not saying i do not need friends or personal relationships, i am just saying i am comfortable with who i am and doing things alone.

8.  when it comes to personal relationships, i am starting to realize that i need to not go off a list before getting to know a person.  master's degrees and status quo's don't make a relationship.  i don't want anyone who still lives at home in their 30's or still could not keep a decent job, nor do i want someone who cannot give up material things and is always keeping up with the joneses.

9.  i love my job.  i have never felt more passion than anything else i have done, career wise.  some days are better than others.  if i ever decide to leave and move some place else, at the back of my mind, i wonder if i will regret it.  

10.  i am a simple person and i want a simple life.  while work to me is important, i work so i can live and not the other way around.

11.  i make mistakes, a lot of them.  some people judge me for it and to be quite honest, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it.  if you do, i don't give a fuck.

12.  my mom is the most important person in the world to me.  i grew up in a two-parent home but i will tell you this, my mom raised me.

so, what is on tap for 2013?  well ... all the things i listed above are things that would have great considerations for anything that i do this coming year.  professionally, it is a big year.  we are going through our "prep" year for re-accreditation.  this is the bulk of my job.  i will toot my own horn, because i can and only because i take pride in what i do for a living, we got perfect scores 5 years ago for our accreditation and yes, i want a repeat.  no pressure, right?  i am not quite sure what major travel plans i will have in 2013, but i do want to venture at least outside of the united states.  the rest will just have to come naturally.  personally?  well, that is always the million dollar question.