Tuesday, March 5, 2013

These things I've learned.

With my 30th birthday on the horizon (are you sick of hearing about it yet?), I've been thinking about posting something profound and hopefully quite wisdomous. Wisdomous is a word, trust. But I would feel like such an asshole spouting off wisdom that I don't even follow. And, I realized I don't like talking about myself THAT much. I like telling stories, but like a laundry list of Tiffany wisdoms? As amazing as that sounds, I'm already sick of hearing myself.

So I will leave it at this - I am going give you some cliff notes on things I have done/learned in my life that have shaped the 30 year old woman that I am. And a few things I need to work on, just to keep it fair-and-balanced, you know? Let's do this shit.


THINGS I HAVE DONE/LEARNED
  • Daily drama & crisises, while entertaining, help no one. I have made a conscious effort to be more positive and stop bitching about every single little thing in my life. Am I 100% positive? Nope. But in the past 5 years I have gotten SO much better at looking at the bigger picture and not letting little details get to me.
  • I will always be judgmental. I can't help it. And if you are going to wear 6-inch stilettos to work and then you can't walk in them you deserve my judgement. 
  • If you are unhappy and unfulfilled in a relationship, end it. It will be awkward and awful and you will feel like the worst person in the entire world. That will all pass. But you can't force happiness and fulfillment. You just can't. I ended a 5+ year relationship much to the shock of my family and friends and I have never regretted it and never looked back. Making yourself happy and complete will always be #1 in my book.
    • Footnote: And if you should perhaps leave an unfulfilling and awful relationship, please read Eat, Pray, Love. GUYS IT REALLY HELPED ME. Learning to let go was the most important lesson of my life.
  • Single ladies...LIVE ALONE. At some point in your life, ditch the roommates. Suffer financially. Decorate the shit out of your apartment. Eat dinner in you underwear. Sleep naked. Pass out drunk in your bathroom and cover up with the rug. No one will ever know. You will really discover who you are, who your friends are, and what is important to you.
  • You will know when you find your other half. You will. If you can honestly not find one single thing wrong with a person, besides their shoes, then they are truly your perfect fit. And when you find that person, don't let them go. Fight your hardest fight. Have no shame. Because when it works, you will never regret the sobbing and mildly drunk phone call which sealed the deal and also solved the problem of the ugly shoes. It is so worth it, you guys.
  • And speaking of having no shame, lighten the fuck up, you know? One of my favorite (probably made-up) words from a book is erleichda - and it literally means "lighten up." Laugh at yourself. Relax. But don't relax to the point of farting in front of your significant other. That shit is UNACCEPTABLE. 
  • Not all cats are self-reliant. Some are special-needs. Really special-needs.

THINGS I STILL NEED TO WORK ON.
  • Learning the difference between left and right.
  • Saving money and sticking to a budget.
  • Setting boundaries. BIG TIME. And then sticking to them. BIG TIME.
  • Not getting caught up in other people's drama. Not my bid'ness.
  • My fitness. I'm getting better at it, and I like it! I just really need to stick with it. Like, forever.
  • Not loving beer so much. Or whiskey. 
  • My television viewing choices. Or do I.
And now that I'm through this I still feel like a total asshole. Because who I am to tell you how to live your life? I didn't even have hair until I was four, so why should you listen to me? Because I am happy. I am turning 30 and I can honestly say that I am happy. And once I finally distinguish between left and right, I feel like I might really have a chance in this world.



Simple Bliss

24 comments:

  1. theres a post it on the wall right above my computer at work that says 'maintain a positive attitude'
    and i may or may not have printed out a picture of the cutest kid president ever that says 'the time to awesome is now'
    so dont you worry, i think we're all chugging right along with ya on the first one. i tend to think im a positive person and then i step back and realize im kind of a downer sometimes. happy positive people are way cooler, i need to work on that.

    rainbows and butterflies,
    michelle

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  2. I completely agree with what you said about living alone. I think too many people are scared of being alone and they jump from relationship to relationship. I lived alone for 3-4 months. Yes, it wasn't long but it was wonderful. I think my sister would be happier in her life if she had lived alone. Everyone needs to learn how to make yourself happy without depending on someone else.

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  3. Haha I loved this. I too need to work on ALL those things. When once upon a time I took the test to get my driver's license I drew an L on my left wrist and an R on my right wrist with sharpie, per the advice of my driving instructor.

    Excellent advice, I feel wiser for having read it. Glad you solved the shoe problem.

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  4. I'm going to print this out and put it somewhere. Thanks for the words of wisdom Tiff, you rule!

    I also need to work on my right and left-- I used to get in trouble in Driver's Ed class for taking my hands off the wheel to put up my hands and make the "L" with my finger when he told me to make turns so I knew where to go. JUDGE ME

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  5. I so agree about every girl living alone for awhile. Andy's sister was bitching about it a few weeks ago and I was like, but you can pee with the door open. And you can have a giraffe print duvet if you want. And if you want to pile dishes in the sink, no one cares. And you can eat fast food on the couch while watching reality TV and no one is there to judge you. Ahhhh the single lady days. Can you tell I miss them a little bit?

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  6. Not loving beer (and gin in my case) is so hard. I try so hard. But I'm always tempted by the fruit of another...another Coors Light, that is.

    YOU LOOK LIKE A BALLER IN THAT PICTURE.

    Drama is the last thing I want to deal with. I had that realization about 4 years ago, and have tried to cut all the bullshit out ever since. Howeverrrr, everyone is a little judgmental, and that's just life, I think.

    It reminds me of the Sex & The City quote, "We all judge. Some people do arts and crafts...we judge."

    You're really not immature, Tiff. But Whitney's comment saying you are still makes me laugh the hardest.

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  7. ok ok ok. you are wise and not so immature (all the time).
    but- if you told me you were 23, I'd totally believe you. So there is that.
    and I am just copying your "Need to Work On" list to my to-do list as well. especially the budget part. Which, actually I'm really good at. It's the money vampire I married that's the real problem here....

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    Replies
    1. Whitney...you cracked me up yesterday. I loved it. Thank you!

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    2. I looked, I've seen nothing. NOTHING. And I wanted to laugh.

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  8. "you deserve my judgement." lol, yes indeed.
    Not all cats are self-reliant is the greatest line in this post. Poor J, she tries so hard.

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  9. omgosh i love you! this is so great, i literally love all of your honest advice!! its really encouraging to hear this kind of stuff, people being happy and positive and shit- its good. i like it :) thanks for linking up chick xxo

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  10. I love this. I think 30 is going to be the best age :)

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  11. Can you build a time machine & hand this to middle school Staci? Well, except for the cat part. Don't need that knowledge. At least not yet. Also, I have to make an L with my hand to remember which one is left. Even did it during my drivers test to turn on the left blinker.

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  12. I just turned 30 in December and I totally agree with everything. I've started lightening up, not letting the little dramas get to me, and such. I also think you are SPOT ON with the living alone thing. I know so many girls that have roommates well into their late 30s and don't know how to love themselves or be who they really are. I lived alone and it opened me up to be myself wholly, and I'm a better person for it.

    Eat Pray Love is a God-send. I read that while going through my divorce 5 years ago and it saved my sanity. Which saved my life.

    Oh and I'm also judgmental, and I don't care :). I'm 30. I can think whatever I want to think!

    xoxo

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  13. You know your Right from Wrong; knowing your Right from Left will take care of itself in time. :)

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  14. I have had your page pulled up for two hours, just trying to figure out how to respond, but I can't.

    I think I'll just tell you that this post of yours is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. And quite possibly my favorite post. ever. period. no exceptions. not just from you, anyone.

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  15. great list!!

    other people's drama is a good thing to stay away from,although sometimes it is intriguing :)

    happy almost 30th!!

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  16. I, too, will someday learn the difference between left and right. I actually amaze people with my ability to mess the two up!

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  17. OH MY GOSH. I have never in my life been able to distinguish between right and left. It's a like an actual thing in my family that I'm known for. If you tell me one direction, you can bet your bottom dollar I will go the other.

    That picture of you is incredible.

    I love the whole concept of this post. I was thinking of doing something similar for my birthday A WEEK FROM FRIDAY.

    Also, getting out of bad relationships really is the best thing a girl can do for herself.

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  18. Good advice! Happy early birthday!

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  19. Girl, it's like you know me. I've done all of those things. Seriously. Welcome to your dirty 30's my darling. I've really enjoyed this phase of my life and it just keeps getting better.

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  20. I'm never sick of hearing about birthdays.

    Great lessons!

    I still need to make Ls with my fingers for right and left...I'm going to be 36 on 3/15. I'm not sure I'll ever get that one down.

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  21. Stop lying. You love my drama. And you love getting all up in it and helping me handle a bitch.

    And is this the earliest judgmental Tiffany picture?

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  22. I love the picture! How old are you there? And I love this entire post! You are totally fit to give advice. "Lighten the fuck up" is my favorite nugget. So much happiness in ALL areas of your life will happen if you do. Seriously. I never lived alone and always wanted to. Still do actually! I lived with roommates from 19-23, then Jacob. But he was on work trips 70% of the first year, so I kinda count it. And it's probably why we made it out alive.

    I didn't have hair until I was three.

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We just became best friends.

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