it's been TWELVE YEARS!!!

So in life some things are a given…..like being born and dying!!!  But what comes between those two extremes is what I want to talk about………

As the picture above depicts…..we got through stages – creation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adult years, old age and then we kick the bucket!!  Of course all of these stages are not guaranteed…nothing is ever a guarantee. 

But hypothetically speaking, say that we are talking of these stages that most people go through. 

So….my wondering/thinking mind has me contemplating what it is that us, as human beings, are to achieve in each stage…..and within each stage as well.  Each stage spans years, and there are things that one should achieve as they age and move towards the next stage.  As a baby it’s pretty straight forward….eat, sleep, pee, poop……and as you get older you learn to hold your own bottle, to use a knife and fork to feed yourself, to not pee and poop in your undies, this stage I think is pretty cut and dry, well hopefully dry haha!
after this you move into been a kid….again your learning is pretty defined, reading, writing, learning, exploring life.  This stage is impacted by how much your parents invest in you, or choose not to invest, like the kids in my neighborhood!! 

I guess I’m more contemplating life as an adult…..when are you an adult?  18?  21??  25?  30?  I think this is where people start to drift apart at alarming rates.  Some go to college, some don’t, some choose to go onto grad school, law school etc, and some don’t. 

So…….some choose to get a job straight out of high school; some choose to be lifelong learners……and still others go the degree route and then move onto the ‘real world’.  Again this is something I question, what and who decided to define the ‘real world’…….I’m pretty sure my idea of the real world is not the same as others…….just saying!

What I contemplate about this stage of life is who draws our road maps?  Who chooses our paths for us?  US?  Circumstances?  Our parents, possibly our families?  Who defines what success is??  Surely everyone measures this differently?  

All I see in the above paragraph is ??? I don’t know the answers, and that’s why I question!! I think for me I know where I’d like to be, I know how I measure success in my mind, but this is so different for everyone……it’s obvious, look around you, look at your friends, family, acquaintances, etc.  What you deem as important in life might very well be completely different in their eyes!!

I thought, for a brief point in time, that I had this game called LIFE all figured out!!! I made some tough decisions; I left my home and my family behind to make a better future for myself.  I have NO way of knowing whether or not this was the right decision to make, but what I do know is that these decisions cannot be undone, I am where I am because this is where my life, my decisions, my family and especially where God has led me.  I do believe that we all have a purpose in life…..but to find that purpose…..that’s the challenge!!!

You see when I thought I had it figured out I was going to go to college, do well, get a good job and build a base for myself.  I was going to get my CPA, my CMA and my MBA and have a child all BEFORE I turned 30!!!!!!  Well let me tell you something……life slapped me in the face!!!

 Sure I have the degree, I got excellent grades in college, I built that base and I got the CPA license, however I was almost 31 before I got my CMA license and I will be almost 33 before I graduate with my MBA.  As for the child……well I am not sure how old I’ll be before we are blessed with a bundle of joy.   

My life hit some speed bumps……..I made some choices along the way that I wouldn’t necessarily choose again, BUT……as they say “Hindsight is 20/20”.  At times I felt like a failure for not achieving my rather ambitious goals, however, I believe that what matters is that I have taken each and every one of those ‘bumps’ as a lesson in life and grown from them and moved on.   

As for me, TODAY, on August 31, 2011, the official 12^th anniversary of my landing in the United States of America, I think I have my life pretty well back on track.  Things are looking up and I am pretty confident that I can say the sky is truly the limit.  I am working on achieving the goals I set for myself, of course whether or not I am successful in life is yet to be determined and really, think about it, I have many, many years still to live, so lots of years to still “make or break it…….”

For now I am happy, I am loved, I am content.  Of course I am still finding the answers to my ?????? but as I dodge the curve balls life throws at me I am bound and determined to enjoy my time I have on God’s green earth!!!