"I Guess You Had to Be There" -- Chicago Apartment Life

I guess you had to be there the time I went through life after leaving my full-time job. For reference, I had a full-time job as a web developer at a large company, which I left on my own terms for a shot at self-employment. Now, I drive for Uber while being in between jobs, hoping someone gives me a job offer that can be permanent for me.

Let me begin by saying I became friends with both of these lovely people on interesting terms. I met my dear friend Kyle through a high school friend and several additional pathways later, our now mutual ex friend introduced us to each other at my very first apartment. He made some tasty drinks for us that's forsure! I met my dear friend Noah on an even crazier venture; Kyle met Noah through OkCupid and invited me over to a gathering at his apartment to meet Noah for the first time. After a series of events, I ended up in a fetal position on Kyle's bed while he was comforting me and Noah was looking at shoes because Kyle was gone and he didn't know anyone. Note none of us were sober that night... Fast forward a couple years after that and now we're all living together. Plus, with Kyle being an Uber driver too, he helped me be able to become one too by showing me the paperwork and going over how to use the Uber Driver app with me. Thanks for all the help by the way I truly appreciate it!

Both  of these lovely people have seen the before and after changes in me from about a year ago until today. A year ago, I was making good money living the high life, involved in many activities, and being willing to drive an hour and a half to go perform at a local talent show. Now, I am driving for Uber at insane hours, playing the hustle game, and crossing my fingers I make rent. They have probably seen my boobs, PJs, no makeup self, gross crying mode, anxiety attack, and all the works. They have also seen me bring back people who are pleasurable and ones who we want to get the fuck out immediately. Those who aren’t the best people range from not fully recovered alcoholics who acted drunk and belligerent to “friends” who end up causing me to emotionally over-drink on my birthday because they upset me and stole my phone to send text messages saying “I love pickles” to my friends while constantly making fun of me. Throughout the course of living with these two, they have seen several of these “bad friends” they didn’t like, but at least the good outweigh the bad and thankfully, both of you are still here! At least I introduced them to our amusement park travel buddy who I met randomly while playing Dance Dance Revolution!

While driving for Uber, there would be days I would come back over caffeinated, exhausted, post all-nighter, etc. and both of you ended up spending eons telling me I needed to sleep until my eventual wakeup call. Now I have slept basically every single day since Labor Day. I would sometimes be gone over 24 hours at a time without returning home except maybe to pee. Lately, I haven't been gone for more than 10 hours at a time and when it seems like I was gone for a long time, I would get text messages wondering where I was, prompting me to want to return home shortly after. I always want to make sure to at least see both of you for a little bit before going to sleep. Now that I return home at midnight or earlier, the chances of that happening are significantly greater. Thanks for convincing me to get myself as much of a sleep schedule as I can and sleep every single day instead of driving through the night.

I appreciate how much you both care about me and want me to do well in life. A lot of the time we have been living together, I always mention all the job interviews I'm about to have and how I am craving to get an offer somewhere. Many interviews and rejections later, I finally received an offer from a commission only job at a small outsource marketing firm in the Chicago loop. Both of you gave me multiple red flags after my first day and continued to urge me to quit, which I appreciate. I came home super beat in a non gratifying way and you noticed the difference in my mood and overall well-being immediately. I quit less than 3 weeks later. You know those moments where you know someone’s right and it takes awhile to listen to them because you want to see for yourself? This instance was one of those moments. I also like to see my dearest friends be successful too and celebrate accomplishments, such as new jobs and promotions. For example, taking a shot after each of you got jobs at Mariano’s and a shot after I received my job offer.

One of my favorite moments of celebration, besides of course being able to throw parties, is getting to go on mini vacations to ride roller coasters at Cedar Point. The three of us and another friend went to Cedar Point over the summer, 2016. Someone told how something to either expand or falter relationships is going on trips. On vacations, especially when sharing hotel rooms, you see the entirety of a person. For me, that’s how long I take in the bathroom, how slow I am at getting ready, and me with no makeup. Living with people and vacationing them presents a lot of vulnerability. Being at an amusement park also presents standing in line. I have been in past situations before where I was standing in line with my now ex boyfriend. He would pull the petty argument card while in line and I ended up on my phone ignoring him the entire time. This time, it was spent laughing, bonding, and watching my friends become gradually more afraid of the big rides as we approached the front of the line. We are definitely planning on going on another trip to ride roller coasters in 2017.

Growing up, I always had a difficulty becoming close to people. I had a couple strong friendships in the past, but I always felt like something was missing. There were also multiple experiences regarding failed relationships with roommates, like in college when I lived with someone I barely knew as opposed to knowing them for a couple years prior to living with them. It was definitely a hot mess. This time, the situation is way different, and for that, I shall be grateful.

The Epic McVentures of Fuck (Cray) Mountain

My life is a giant quest. The ultimate goal of my adventures is to become more confident in myself, believe in my positive attributes as a person, and maintain positive relationships with the people I decide to keep close to me.

I've always been a roller coaster enthusiast for as long as I could remember. Even my bat mitzvah theme was Six Flags and Amusement Parks. A year ago, I had went to Cedar Point to prove to myself I needed to end my relationship with Voldemort the jerk bag boyfriend at the time, not knowing the next time I'd end up back there again. I was able to live my childhood dream, but that's about the only gratification I was able to feel, besides letting go of toxicity. Less than a year later, my second chance to live my childhood dream plopped into my lap.

On June 6, me, my two roommate friends, and a friend I met while playing Dance Dance Revolution in an arcade, embarked on an adventure to ride the largest of roller coasters in the US and get out of town for a bit. Ironically enough, I met this lovely friend of mine at the arcade on an occasion when I got Voldemort so mad at me to where I left his apartment at 3:30am to drive home. Needless to say, I made the correct decision on who to keep in my life!

Prior to this adventure, my friend who I met while playing Dance Dance Revolution was afraid of roller coasters. We were supposed to go to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio with record-breaking roller coasters, on the Monday. The park ended up closing due to weather issues and power outages; we ended up hitting the Six Flags in the Chicago suburbs instead. The park was an hour away from my apartment. We arrive at the park to do our “warm up rides” aka the not super scary rides. We hit the Demon looping coaster and the “more tame wooden coaster”, the Viper first and he went on those rides without a problem. We ended up heading over to the bigger wooden coaster, the "American Eagle", and he chickened out and didn’t go on the ride. The 4 of us end up hitting the a number of the bigger rides at the park, all of which my friend still chickened out for. I was getting worried my poor friend wouldn't go on any rides and possibly kick himself for it later. We wanted to leave the park early in order to make our lengthy drive drive to Ohio and not get there at 3am, but I opted for “1 more ride”. On this ride, known as "Batman", your feet dangle and you’re suspended under the track. I knew he disliked coasters where your feet dangle, but he shockingly went on the ride and thought it wasn’t that bad. By the time we reached Cedar Point, one by one, he was going on all of the rides. By the end of the first of two Cedar Point days, he succeeded at riding the fastest and tallest full roller coaster in the park. By the end of the second day, he succeeded at going from chickening out on a 175 foot drop wooden roller coaster to challenging a ride with a 420 foot almost straight down drop without crying, puking, or peeing himself. I was encouraging him the entire time and even prior to our adventures and was blown away he went on every single major ride at Cedar Point. He attributed his fear conquering to my upliftingness. I’ve always wanted to make a difference in people’s lives; whether it’s on a larger scale or on a smaller scale to a dear friend, I’m happy to be able to change people’s lives and watch them grow!

September Quote Center of Inspirational Upliftingness

September Quote Center of Inspirational Upliftingness is officially a thing. More details soon, but basically I want to make 1 quote per day in September and share it with our beautiful universe. I will update this as often as possible. Enjoy!

August 31: If you’re stuck in one place and know your heart is elsewhere, keep your head in the game and strategically plan your next move. Patience and perseverance are power!

September 1: They told themselves they can, and they did. They climbed up walls; they fell down some, fell again, and again, and got back up. They said to themselves they are somebody, and they shine past the sky’s gates, leaving a star in the sky to represent an imprint of light in the world!

September 2: If you want to feast in life’s delights, it’s about time you take life’s plights and plunge into the sea of awakening!

September 3: If you want to make a difference, don’t wait for someone else to tell you what you can or can’t do. The world is much larger than an enclosed space, especially if you have technology in your hands. Even if you can’t physically show your face, your heart can be seen from miles away!

September 4: I knew there was a voice trapped inside me for all these years, and validated myself when I let it out! Your voice comes from your heart; let its spirit guide you!

September 5: Let your friends be your rocks and take their hands, because life is not meant to be a solo journey when joys can be shared!

September 6: The purpose for the journey isn't solely to emerge victorious; the experiences which create wisdom to power the journey are the purpose for adventure!

September 7: Realize what those who are fighting the war are sacrificing. Be thankful you don't have to ask the skies to take a breath of fresh air after a fatal wound and praise those who cross the line who enable you to celebrate life!

September 8: When struggling to smile, do a good deed for someone or convince them they have more potential than they ever imagined. Smiles and love are contagious; sharing both will direct the cycle in your direction when you need it most!

September 9: Use love for helping or healing; you can maybe save someone's life!

September 10: Use love for helping or healing; you can maybe save someone's life!

September 11: Imagine how much one day can impact the world. If you had one day to change the world, what would you do, start a revolution towards the sun or down into the fire? But never forget those days where brave souls extinguished the fire…

September 12: Let yourself get in touch with the current moment, because every second is an experience you shall embrace!

September 13: Shield your loved ones with your heart, because you never know when you’re going to need a hand in return…

September 14: When you look into the distance and see your goals in the sky, don’t let them fly by; instead, go jump high and let yourself celebrate with pie!

September 15: Let yourself know the finish line exists; if you believe in the checkered flag, your destination will appear as a result of your resilience! 

September 16: Power through your mental blockades as if you were trudging through quicksand about to fall.

September 17: If you wake up in the morning and tell yourself you’re going to win the race, your attitude shall dictate your actions!

September 18: No matter how selfless of a person you are, in order to take care of others with your full heart, you must take care of yourself first!

September 19: Those who enable you to feel safe will destroy your walls!

September 20: As long as the sinking ship has a battery, it is possible to overcome the fear and push the accelerator button!

September 21: Rain from your eyes is like a storm revitalizing a city in deep drought! Dismissing that will only create an endless dark cloud needing water to restore its glow!

September 22: If you create positivity within you, the cycle will return it in your direction!

September 23: There is always someone out there willing to take your hand!

September 24: Take advantage of the moments when you can embrace the positive auras of your surroundings!

September 25: Fear is your driver, not your shield. Let the fuel ignite the fire instead of dissipate it, no matter how large you want it to be!

September 26: Challenge yourself to create goals higher than you think you can achieve in order to reach higher mountains!

September 27: Rejection only means the opportunity wasn't right for you and not a pitfall to your doom!

September 28: To summon the upper vibes, you must embrace them and the desire to be happy! 

September 29: Life's losing streaks aren't permanent because when the rabbit goes down the hole, the only way it can climb is up. With several losses in a row, will plus resilience results in a win!

September 30: The finish line is the light at the end of the tunnel. Chase after it like you’re running away from a charging bull!

Welp, that's it on the daily quotes. I will still make quotes whenever I choose to, but this is the end of my September Quotes of Inspirational Upliftingness. I hope you all enjoyed it! :) Here's to all the happiness and success for everyone <3