My Second Quarter

I guess the title of my blog needs a little explaining so that you can understand my perspective in what I'm writing. My Second Quarter has a two-fold meaning, but it really all goes back to me getting ready to start the second quarter of my life... assuming I'll live to be 100 and get to have my smiling face on Good Morning America or whichever show that is. You know what I'm talking about... right??

So about a year ago, I was going through a really tough time. I had been struggling for a while with my place in life. I was 24, single, and I had yet to find a "real" job. I just didn't feel like I was where I should be 2.5 years out of college. On top of that, my dog Buster had recently passed away, which meant I lost my roommate and best friend, as sad as that sounds. Then, while I was home for Christmas, I found out I had no job to come back to in January. While not a "real" job by many people's standards, it was the first job that I had truly loved, and having that taken away from me was pretty much the last straw that sent me spiraling into a dark place. While I was out of work and feeling like I really had nothing going for me, I became "deathly" ill with bronchitis, ear infections, and the flu. At that point I was stuck in my little house, all alone, with nothing but horrible feelings about myself and my life. That, my friends, was the beginning of my little "quarter life crisis" (which, by the way, is totally legit... I even wrote a paper about it... and thank God it's not just me). Thus, a year later and with some of those issues resolved, I'm moving past the quarter life crisis and into my second quarter. Clever, eh?

Now here's the really clever part... at least in my little head. If you know me, you wouldn't be surprised that when I think about quarters, my mind goes to football. So as I started thinking about the quarters of my life, I thought about the quarters of a football game. During a football game, what happens at the end of the first quarter? The teams switch ends of the field. The team with the ball still has the ball, and it is placed in the same position at the opposite end of the field. There is no kickoff or possession change--the only thing that changes is the scenery. The same team gets to keep moving forward, from the same spot, but just in a new direction with a new perspective. That's how I feel about where I am right now. I'm about to start a new part of my life, but I don't get to start over completely. I'm moving forward from where I am, but I feel like I've got a new perspective on where I'm going. The buzzer has sounded, and I'm moving to the other end of the field to start the next quarter of this game I call life. Cheesy, yes... but still a clever analogy, I think.

I still wonder a lot of times what I'm doing, how I got here, and where to go from here, but I think I'm getting past that point of panic and feeling like I've failed my parents because I don't have some fancy job and a big ring on my finger. Come May when I have my MBA in hand and am job searching, that panic may set in again, but I definitely think this is a whole new part of my life, and I'm leaving that quarter life crisis behind. I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences as I move forward into my second quarter and find out just what life has in store for me!

Watch Me Go!

I had a percussion instructor in middle in high school, who was a bit of an odd bird. Among his many eccentricities was his habit of saying anytime I started doing something, "There goes Mary Elizabeth!** Watch her go!" When you hear something enough times, I guess it gets ingrained in your mind, so I developed a habit of saying that to myself as well. Not for every little thing, but when I need to really gear myself up for something, a little "Watch me go!" never hurts.

Well, I'm starting a new adventure in this little blog, so watch me go! I recently read a book. If you don't know me, you're still probably waiting for the end of that sentence. Okay, you read a book... And?? If you do know me well, you know there's no And?... I read a book. Period. I haven't done that in years, except for the books I've been required to read for grad school these last 2 and a half years. The book is called Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster, and I LOVED it. I even read all 375 pages in less than 24 hours; that's how much I loved it. If you've ever struggled with weight and you have a sense of humor at all, you should read it. But anyway, the point of me telling you about this book is that while I was reading it, I just kept thinking (aside from "That's SO me!"), "Man, I'd love to write a book someday." I don't know what it was, but Jen Lancaster's writing just really inspired me.

I have always loved writing and loved sharing my life with others, but I had never considered writing a book. After about a couple of weeks of mulling this over and trying to figure out what I could possibly write a book about that hadn't already been done, I still had no earthly idea what I could ever write a whole book about. Nor do I have any idea that anyone would like to read what I write. Thus, this blog was born. The things I have to share are a reflection of my life--random pieces that don't always fit together or make any sense at all--and probably much more suited for a blog style anyway. Who knows... maybe one day I will write a book... but for now, the world will have to settle for my little piece of cyberspace. Will anyone like what I write or read it? I don't know. Will I even share the url with anyone? I don't know that either. But I do know that I've been inspired, and it feels great.


**No, my name is not actually Mary Elizabeth. Just Elizabeth. Liz, if you like. But there's no Mary. Just add that to the list of his eccentricities.