Happy New Decade!

I think I'm going to start blogging regularly. It helps get things off my chest. Call it weird, call it what you will, I really don't care if you don't like it. No one is forcing you to read it.

This is kind of a long post, but I think you'll benefit from the read. I hate reading though, so I don't blame you if you want to stop here!

Anyway, now that I got that out, Happy New Year! I love this time of year for two reasons: It's a time to take a step back and look at what you want to change in your life, and there are a crapload of college football bowl games on. I could do without the cold, but I guess I have to deal with it.

I don't really have a resolution for 2010 other than try to enjoy every day no matter what. I decided that enjoying every day no matter what is the best resolution you could have. I know what you're thinking right now... "But Michael, it's impossible to enjoy EVERY SINGLE DAY!" and I simply ask you: Why? Why is it impossible to enjoy every day? I used to think like you, believing that I couldn't make every day a good one, and just accepting the fact that some days were going to be crappy and I was going to be in a bad mood at some point. But then I realized it's all about how you react to the world around you. As cliche as it sounds, it's all about your attitude.

This change of heart is what made me want to write this blog. If you ask anyone that has had a legitimate conversation with me, they'll tell you one of the first things I talk about is moving out of Michigan and starting a life outside of what I'm so used to. I used to say this is because I strongly disliked my life in this little town of Holt, Michigan. I felt like every day was the same and that I was wasting my time. My junior year of high school I was pissed off at the world 90% of the time, although I didn't always let it show. My relationship with my parents was distant; every word out of my moms mouth was about how lazy I was and how I never did homework, and the only thing I talked to my dad about was whatever sporting event was on that night. My brother was in the dorms at MSU so I never really saw him, and we really weren't close. Basically, I never wanted to go home after school and leave my close group of friends. I felt like I had nothing in common with my family, and they were just another annoyance in my uneventful life.

Between the ages of 17 and 20, I learned more about life than I had in the rest of my life combined. I lost close friends, got my heart broken, watched people change into people they said they would never be, etc. I get the feeling this is typical for a person at that point in their life. I learned, though, that you can't look at the bad things in life. You have to keep yourself from thinking about all the negatives. You may have lost one good friend, but there are eight more that have always been there for you and will always be there for you. You may have been rejected, but you will move on someday when you meet the next girl, so don't let the good times be ruined because of her. You may have been let down by someone, but think about all the ways you may have changed and the mistakes you've made. Bad things are bound to happen but that doesn't mean you should stop enjoying life, ever, even for just one second. Don't let the shadow of the bad dull the colors of the good around you.

Like I said, it's all about attitude. After three years of living without my brother (two when he was in the dorms at MSU, one when I was), we finally both decided to live at home due to the financial situation. I finally noticed how much he changed and even... dare I say it... matured. I started seeing how he acted and reacted. When my mom would bug him to do homework (even though he was 21, because she's like that) he would crack a joke. When my dad would get mad about something, he would laugh it off. Then one day my mom said "Richie, life isn't all fun and games!" and my 21 year old brother responded with "Why not?" This got me thinking... and I don't know if he knows this but that moment will stick in my mind forever. Why not have fun in life? Why not make every aspect of life funny? Why not joke about the bad things and laugh at the stupid things and take interest in the seemingly boring things? Why not make life one big game? Why not just enjoy life, no matter what? Who's to say I can't?

Since that day, I've been happier. Plain and simple. In fact, my whole family is happier. I started joking with my mom more, and took interest in what my dad liked (HGTV isn't as bad as you might think). My brother and I are more alike now than we've ever been, and I still have my best friends. In case you're wondering, I still want to move out of Michigan. I don't like the cold, the economy stinks, and I still feel like I'm missing out on a ginormous world, but I know now that this crummy little town of Holt isn't so crummy after all. It's about forgetting what you don't have, can't have, or have lost, and appreciating what you do have, can have and will gain in the future.

I'm taking my new attitude into every aspect of life. It's really not as hard as it sounds. If you're going to bed mad tonight, start over tomorrow and be open to everything. Take interest in something you never thought you'd be interested in. Learn something new. Listen to an old song that you haven't heard in a while. Whatever it is you do, just make sure you enjoy the day, no matter what.