Appreciating Life

I appreciate people who appreciate life. I have found myself consistently being drawn to those who spend their time relishing the life they are living, rolling with the punches dealt to them, and doing it all the while with a smile (that rhymes...awesome).

So many of us get bogged down in the agonizingly boring day-to-day minutiae that confronts us at every turn. The small details, the random problems, the teeth-pulling interactions...those will always be there. But in no way does that define who we are or how we live our lives.

Simply put - I am surrounding myself with people with passion. This theory sounds so basic and elementary, but focusing on it and surrounding myself with these types of people has had an amazing effect on me and how I choose to prioritize and live my life. Spending time with people who genuinely appreciate life and who rarely let things negatively affect them is so incredibly refreshing and inspirational for me. I consider myself a relatively upbeat person with lots of energy, but I have never considered myself immune to falling into ruts or losing sight of why I'm happy to be living.

I have friends that have dedicated large portions of their lives to meeting certain life and career goals, and have never wavered from that path, and are now exactly where they want to be. I have friends who have strong passions and know what makes them happy, and they sacrifice other parts of their lives to make sure they allow themselves time to do the things they love.

Over the past few months, I have realized that certain parts of our lives are formalities. We will always have the annoying nuances of work, paying bills, car maintenance problems, laundry, and shaving (ugh, I hate shaving). But when you can get to the point where you accept these minor facets of life and allow yourself to see beyond them, this is when you set yourself up for success.

I can't tell you how impressed I am with the people who work 10-12 hour days and come home and are immediately ready to say "Hey, let's go out and get a drink" or "I can't wait to go on a run", or "I'm gonna cook a great dinner." They never once complain about their long day, or make excuses for why they can't go do something because they are tired or have no motivation. I really hate excuses, and I'm starting to realize how easy it is to avoid them altogether. Those of you I'm talking about, you know who you are. I appreciate every day I spend with you, because you give me perspective on what is really important to me.

I feel at my best with my friends. Again, you know who you are. This past May I was in Washington D.C. with some college friends, and I was walking with one of them at the 9/11 monument outside the Pentagon, and I just had one of those out-of-body moments where I was able to see myself...and I realized how much I loved the person I was when I was with those friends. So you UCLA kids, you have a huge impact on my well-being and happiness. Thank You.

I still have some amazing friends that I've known since high school. These guys are my glue. They know everything about me. And they still treat me with the most respect of anyone I know. We will always have each other's backs for the rest of our lives, and to have that kind of feeling of comfort and safety with your boys...it makes you feel empowered and appreciative. You guys know who you are.

And now I am meeting new people. I will NEVER stop meeting people. Talking and getting to know people is my favorite thing. The past couple months I have had the amazing opportunity to meet some incredible people, and even better, continue to get to know them. Spending time with these people immediately gives me a renewed sense of life and energy, and it is so refreshing, it's hard to explain. To those of you who have made your way into my life circle, I love what you have done for my happiness, confidence, and enthusiasm.

I love surfing. I love running. I love photography. I love cooking. I love driving. I love being outdoors. There's nothing that should get in my way of doing any of these things. And it is people with passion that remind me how possible it is to achieve all I want in my life.

I want to be successful. I'd love to make tons of money. But more than anything, I hope at any given juncture in my life, I can say I am happy. Not content. Not fine. Genuinely happy.

Here's to all of you attaining that happiness too.