14. This I Believe: 28

I believe that things, for the most part, turn out all right. I believe that one of the keys to a successful and happy life is to weather the ups and downs of life. Keep an even keel. Take delight in your joys

and embrace your sorrows, all the while moving one foot in front of the other.

This has now come more clear to me after a year where I just kept trekking along, even though  I thought I was failing. There were moments last year where I felt like my life was the worst. Covering five basketball games in six nights in frigid weather, while not seeing my friends or family and constantly worrying about money, love life, loans, etc. made for some long nights.

And then I fast forward to today. I just got home from eating at my favorite restaurant (The Neighborhood Cafe) with friends whom I enjoy spending time with. I had some good beer with good friends. It made me happy and all those worries and other things just seemed to slip away. It felt great to just be there and not worry about the bigger problems of the universe that I know we can’t do anything about at that moment.

I don’t mean that you should deny your problems or your sorrows or things that make you upset. I think you should embrace them. Take them, talk to people about them, and just muddle with them for a while. That’s healthy.

But also realize that there is going to be an upswing. Luck will start to change. Things will start to come your way, but it might take some patience to realize it.

Through the past year, I’ve noticed that my life has achieved somewhat of an equilibrium. It’s not perfect, but it’s gotten to the point where most days are pretty all right. I’m financially stable and in decent shape. I can still go for a 5K without feeling like death and I also have good friends that I can turn to in times of need. I like watching Premier League Soccer and I know that staying in a bar past midnight usually doesn’t lend itself to good results.

I know what foods I like (Turkey Sandwiches, Black Pepper Triscuits, Digiornio Supreme Pizza). I know what shows I’ll enjoy watching on television and I know what music I like. But I also know that I enjoy taking risks. I enjoy new projects and I enjoy meeting new people. I also know pretty quickly whether a date is going to work out or not.  It’s a good feeling know those things about yourself.

One of the things an improv teacher told me before my class had our performance was to take a moment when were on stage, look down at our shoes, and say to ourselves, “You are meant to be here.” That calmed me. It made me know that even if you are scared, you are where you are supposed to be right at this moment.

It might not be the moment or the place where you want to end up, but if you just keep going, things will be all right.