Maybe…
My friend Angela L. sent this email to me and I agree with the first one about meeting the wrong people before you meet the right one. I’ve met my fair share of “wrong people.” Some of the “wrong” people were great but just not what I was looking for; others were just straight up assholes. But, I’m glad I had those experiences because they really help me appreciate the person I have now.
I started dating my first boyfriend, a sweet, quiet kid from the neighborhood, when I was 17. He was respectful and my family loved him. After our first year together (which included my going “away” to school at U of I in Champaign), I realized I could get away with being a bitch, so then a bitch I was all of the time. The more he put up with my shit, the more I dished it out. He finally smartened up and dumped me after a Pearl Jam concert. I was 20 years old.
At the age of 21, I met a really fun, outgoing guy at a bar. He had connections in Chicago’s hottest clubs and loved to have a good time. He was the complete opposite of my high school boyfriend. For the 4 years I spent with him, we partied a lot and fought a lot. I thought if I stuck around he would change so when he asked me to marry him, I said yes. My sister once told me, “You can’t change a man unless he’s in diapers.” Well, he wasn’t in diapers and the longer I stuck around, the worse he treated me. I finally smartened up and left him. I was 25 years old.
That’s what I call Karma and I firmly believe in it. Those two relationships taught me so much about myself, what I’m looking for and what to put up with in a relationship, and how to treat those whom you really appreciate and whom treat you well.
Maybe next time I’ll tell you about another “wrong” person who looked good on paper (college graduate, worked for Microsoft, huge apartment off of Lake Shore Drive), and who was very nice and respectful to me, but when I was ending our very brief relationship, told me that it wasn’t working out for him either because I didn’t need him enough. Wha?! (Weirdo!!!) I had a feeling this one was too good to be true and I should have trusted my gut!
Maybe…we are supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.
Maybe…when the door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often times, we look so long at the closed door that we don’t even see the new one which has been opened for us.
Maybe…it is true that we don’t know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we don’t know what we have been missing until it arrives.
Maybe…the happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Maybe…the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can’t go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and heartaches.
Maybe…you should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one change to do all the things you dream of and want to do.
Maybe…there are moments in life when you miss someone – - a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child – - so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real, so that once they are around you appreciate them more.
Maybe…the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never saying a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.
Maybe…you should always try to put yourself in others shoes. If you feel that something can hurt you, it probably will hurt the other person too.
Maybe…you should do something nice for someone every single day, even if it is simply to leave them alone.
Maybe…giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don’t expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but if it doesn’t, be content that it grew in yours.
Maybe…happiness waits for all those who cry, all those who hurt, all those who have searched and all those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of all the people who have touched their lives.
Maybe…you shouldn’t go for looks, as they can deceive; don’t go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a bad day seem bright. Find the one who makes your heart smile.
Posted by Felicia
Tags: Ramblings, Seen & Heard
SMILE……….