In One Word...

What a week. If I could sum up the past 5 days in one word it would be draining. It was emotionally draining, financially draining, spiritually draining. I try my best to stay positive and optimistic, but five continuous days of being bashed around, I feel, gives me the right to be slightly jaded, if not for just a few hours.

The older I get, the more I realize that I was raised in a bubble. We'll call it the sub-bub (suburban bubble.) My little sub-bub was full of life, and for the most part, happiness. Families were whole, complete, and helped each other out. Friends were truthful, compassionate, and willing to sacrifice for someone in need. Then college happened, and a harsh cold reality hit me. Not everyone is just like me. I know to some of you this sounds like I came from a crazy religious family who home schooled me my entire life and I was locked in the basement forced to listen to Mickey Mouse tapes (the Mickey Mouse tapes is actually true, but we weren't forced and it wasn't the basement.)

My sub-bub officially popped when I moved to Virginia. If I thought college was different, living in this state is even more diverse than any college could ever prepare you for. We have right wing, left wing, pro-choice, pro-life, democrats, republicans, liberals, conservatives, independents, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Agnostics, divorced families, happily married families, unhappily married families, same sex families, single families etc. etc. etc.

My heart hurts that people suffer. My heart hurts that people are not happy. And I guess I resent that it took me 24 years to figure this out. But at the same time I am so happy that I can see the depression and hurt in others lives around me, and learn from it. That's what you gotta do right? Pick yourself up and overcome obstacles. Of course, while helping others along the way.

So a big shout out to my mom and dad. For keeping me safe and loved. For showing me that even though we're not a perfect family, we're still a family. I don't know how they did it, but I hope to God they are writing an instruction manual so that if I have kids, I can use their guidelines to help me through.

Virginia Beach weekend in one week, this will make me a very happy camper.