Where was I?

I recently read a blog post about change and thought it might be fun to reminisce with all of you. One of the ways the article suggested tracking change is by noting where you were one year ago, five years ago, and ten years ago so I'll do just that!


One Year Ago I Was...

living in Chicago taking three online summer school classes and working with FanFueled (my first internship). I was spending my days off reading, cooking, taking photographs, and taking walks by the lake. I was complaining about how many tourists were crowding the streets and making me late for work. One year ago I was wondering whether I could really graduate a full year early and working really hard to meet that goal. I was talking to the boy I had been dating through school and missing him being so far away for the summer.
One year ago I dyed my hair back to blonde. I started spending time with my sweet friend Alex and trying to explore more restaurants in Chicago with my friend Cody. I decided partying wasn't really my thing and that I'd much rather spend my time creating and learning. I was 20 years old and enjoying my last summer as a student.


Three Years Ago I Was...

a fresh high school graduate. I was spending time with all of my friends in a house one of them was watching over the summer. I acted as a designated driver for my friends who liked to drink and enjoyed dreaming about the future with my other friends before we all headed away for college. I was RAKING in the dough because of graduation money and WASTING it all on clothes, shoes, and other frivolous purchases. I was packing and trying to say my goodbyes to the place where I grew up.
Three years ago I was 18 and had never lived outside of Arizona. I was afraid of starting school and living with a stranger. I was nervous about moving to Chicago but imagining my life would be more Sex and the City and less Two Broke Girls (spoiler alert: it was more Two Broke Girls). I was having a summer fling and holding on too tightly to my past. I was hoping to meet someone special in school and dreaming about being an adult. I was getting ready to be a fashion design student and spent my time reading magazines and watching Gossip Girl in preparation. I was young and couldn't wait to get a taste of my future.


Five Years Ago I Was...

feeling lost. High school is such a tough time for so many kids. I had lost many friends after quitting Speech club and was struggling with the idea that most of my friends (who were a year ahead of me in school) would be graduating and moving away soon. I was depressed and spent many days by myself watching TV. I felt like things would never get better (they did) and that I would never find new friends (I did). I felt like I had missed my chance to date a nice guy (turns out he wasn't really a nice guy...) and was wondering what I had done wrong. I started rocking heels and pretty dresses in an attempt to feel better about myself and thinking about going to school in California. I spent a lot of time researching various California art schools that had Interior Design programs. I couldn't wait to get my creative degree and start getting paid to "move furniture around and paint peoples houses". I was... reallllllly young and quite the dreamer.

Ten years ago I was 11 so I'm going to go ahead and skip that one. It took me 20 minutes to think back over the past five years of my life and realized just how far I had come. I'm stronger than I ever used to be. I've lived on my own, experienced new cultures, graduated from both high school and college, achieved far-fetched goals I set for myself, and grown so much as a single lady.
I've gone through times of heartbreak and loneliness and dark depression and come out the other side brighter, stronger, and surrounded by more love than ever before. I've learned how to better maintain the good relationships in my life while letting go of the people who want to bring me down. I'm finding that I prefer I night in with a glass of red wine and a good book over a bar. I'm learning that I want to expand my skills and always be trying new things. I've learned that it's really okay to not fit in with the people in your age group. I've learned that it's okay to be sad and that you can control the effect sadness has on you. I'm also learning that life is just going to keep getting better and better for me. I've always felt that I'm an old soul and I really can't wait to see what the future holds for me.

How have you guys grown in the past five/ten/twenty years? Link up and share!

xoxo
Mal