Day 28- One Year of Changes

A month ago when I read over the list of topics on the thirty day challenge, this topic was one of the three or four that got me really excited about writing for thirty days.

"Day 28-A picture of you last year and now- How have you changed"

Conveniently, I wrote a blog exactly like this last year. Maybe I'll make this an annual topic because I think it's a lot of fun to think about.

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fuuuuuuuuuture jump!

There was a decade in my life were "change" was associated with fear, uncertainty, loneliness, and negativity. Now I welcome change, and I'm happy to say that my values, beliefs, goals, perspective and life has changed more this year than any other year of my life. I may not be completely satisfied with all the changes in my life, but feel like these things are pointing me in the right direction for my personal self-worth.

As far as my physical appearance goes, not a lot has changed. Other than my hair being a little longer now, losing a minimal amount of weight, and not wearing my mustache much anymore, nothing looks any different.

One significant difference in the way my body looks is something that many people don't even notice, unless I point it out to them. In the past year, I put two tattoos on my body. A fork on the inside of my lower lip (which is quickly fading away), and an anchor on my inner left leg. Both of them are hidden well, so you've never seen them, unless I've showed them to you.

As far as friendships and relationships go, during the past year I've realized, the people that want to be a part of my life, will stay in my life. "I know we won't alway keep around all we feel we need. Some are fading in frames, some were born to leave. "And I'm willing to meet most friendships 75% percent of the way (thats just the way I am), but I'm done contributing to 100% of relationships. Thats not friendship. This is a very refreshing realization.

During the past month, I've been trying to decide what my most significant experiences have been in the past year. This is what I have boiled it down to.

1. The end of my time at the Ammon Pool. I spent the last seven years of my life involved with that pool. All my memories of summertime involve the pool in one way or another. That place and those people have played a huge role in my life, and the fact that I can't go back there this coming summer makes my heart sink.

2. Babies. I'm an uncle, and I love it. First, Jaren and Joann brought Titus into the world, and I felt and saw the difference a tiny, newborn human can make in a person's life; whether that person is a mother, a father, a grandparent, an uncle, or connected in any other way. It helped me gain a whole new perspective on the value of life.

A couple months later, Geremy and Viola were blessed with the arrival of Grisham, and my perspective was reassured. It is astonishing to me to see the how much happiness a baby can bring into people's lives. I will never in my life forget slowly rocking Grisham to sleep, and watching him open his eyes every couple minutes, smiling at me, and closing his eyes again.

3. Losing "home" again. After taking a year off of school to spend in Idaho Falls with friends and family with the intent of gaining closure on my hometown, I'm still kind of sad to see my ties to that place fade away. Not only did I move away, but my parent's are also moving away in a week.

Idaho Falls will alway be the place that I grew up, and it will alway be somewhere that I can find comfort, but I've realized that I'm not tied down to that place. I'm tied down to the people. And that is also a very refreshing realization.