By now everyone on social media has most likely seen "The Decade Challenge." As we are less than two months from entering 2020, everyone is comparing how much they have changed looks from 10 years ago.
While I know I have changed looks a bit, (two kids and a husband can do that to a girl 😂), I prefer to look at how my life has changed in a decade and I've debated on how to do that.
Ten years ago, I graduated high school, moved to North Carolina, had an estranged relationship with my parents and was unable to go to college due to federal financial aid restrictions.
I lived in North Carolina for one year while I worked, lived with family I loved, made new lifelong friends, and had virtually zero responsibilities.
I moved back to West Virginia where all of my plans fell through, I ended up basically living out of my car for a bit and had no clue where life was going to take me. I was angry and bitter at the cards I had been dealt, eventually leading to a breakdown in my manager's office.
I met my Biff, we got an apartment and I worked more jobs. I was finally happy with my life. I struggled, but I was content.
I reconnected with a high school friend, who I would later marry and we would have two beautiful children.
I finally started college, but had a brief break due to intense postpartum depression. I lost myself and was in a dark place for some time.
Thanks to my Biff and husband, I finally sought the help I needed and put myself back together. It's been four years since that dark time. I'm still working things back in place, but I'm doing it. That was just a piece of my decade.
Now, while I still struggle and we may still live paycheck to paycheck at times, I am the happiest I have ever been.
I still have my friends from NC, my biff, husband and kids, and a few more people have entered my life that have changed in so many ways. But I have found the path that I know I am meant to be on. I have a job that I love and I GRADUATE college in three weeks.
I get to volunteer read in my son's class once a week. I get to read books for authors before they are ever released. I get to promote author's work and encourage reading to the masses. I get to write about things I enjoy and feature wonderful things around the community.
I have dreams, goals, and aspirations that along with my two littles drive me every single day.
I am so blessed and happy.
If you would have told that poor 18/19 year-old girl that prayed for something better, that begged God to take her out of a world of misery that she didn't deserve, prayed for God to tell her why, that this is where she would be in a decade, I probably would have laughed in your face.
Everything in life has a purpose. Your past does not dictate your future. You can change your course anytime you want. It may be work, but it's worth it. The good can outweigh the bad. And I promise, a decade goes by faster than it seems.
