Put a ring on it!

So lately there has been an epidemic taking over facebook! What's that you ask? No not memes, engagements! It seems like every day I log on someone else I know has a picture of a diamond ring and facebook conveniently flashes me an announcement. Now don't get me wrong, I am by no means hating...I do not want to be anyone's wife at least for the next 5 years (In high school, my ex and I had planned to already be married by now. Oh how life changes.). I am just trying to figure out if I've reached the age where everyone starts to begin their lives with a mate, or if there is some kind of marriage fever going around that I have the vaccine for.

Speaking of marriage, relationships in general seem to be the topic of discussion when my cousins and I meet up. The older, married with kids ones always seem to get around to ask us young, single, childless people who we are currently dating and we begin to tell these "hard out here" stories that last all night. Is it really that hard out here? Or are we just too picky? One last resounding statement one of the "elders" did say, was that it is never going to be perfect. I guess she meant that at some point you realize this person is not going to be everything on your checklist, but he suits the majority of things you want in a companion and the things he does not meet up to aren't as important as you thought.

I am not sure where I stand in that equation though. It seems I find someone who I feel fits perfectly with me, but oops, he's not ready for a commitment! Then there are the guys who really don't scratch half a bullet on my "list", but they sooo want to make me theirs! Sometimes I do wonder if I give a guy too much of a hard time, but then again am I not supposed to have standards? I guess I'll just keep doing what I do, and prince charming will dance his way into my life. Maybe he'll be disguised as a frog!

One month to 25!!

Be the president of your life! So I saw this post from Happy Black Woman on election day, but did not read it until 10 minutes ago. I was not feeling as enthusiastic about the election and all the hoopla in the weeks leading up to it. I did not post anything on facebook or any other site I am glued to every day, but somehow was feeling a little guilty about it. That post states exactly what was going through my mind. While I did vote, I just could not help but think that my life would be exactly the same the day after the election. I mean, there would probably be changes nationwide in the long run, but the result would not directly impact my day to day life. I would still have student loan debt, be at the same job, worry about applying to grad school, and my asthma and allergies would not magically go away. 

All that being said, after I read the post I wondered why I had not just read it that day. She makes some really good points. No president is going to make my life change for me. Obama is not going to complete those applications for me, nor will he help me figure out what I want to do with my life! I have to be the one to have the motivation to take the steps to become who I want to be and accomplish what I want to do.

This conversation in my head made me think back to my very first post on here, 25 things before 25. I am exactly one month shy of my 25th birthday and I am not sure I have actively been achieving these goals. Here are the things I still needed to complete:

25 things before 25:
1. begin a healthy romantic relationship/cut off meaningless male relationships
7. join basketball league/team/play regularly (play 1-2x a week)
9. figure out career plan
10. see asthma specialist
13. develop braiding/twisting clientele (not many but yes)
15. talk to financial advisor about loans/savings
16. paint/write - creative art (did my first painting during sandy)
18. help out with dad's business (ad campaign, sales)
19. learn to be on time!!
20. learn about US politics (I read a lot of information during the election)
22. buy a car
23. apply to grad programs/grants/scholarships/fellowships
25. make/stick to a budget

I did knock off a few things I had left, but still have a ways to go. I guess I really have no control over #1 so I may just count the 2nd half of it as completed. I do have plans to discuss a business plan with my dad when I go home for Thanksgiving in a few days so I should be able to put some ideas into motion before my 25th. I am going to look for cars this weekend as well and had set a deadline of Dec 1st (that is probably NOT going to happen). I am almost done with my applications, so they WILL all be submitted by Dec 19th! I am going to use my extended weekend to work on the other items on this list so that some progress can be made by next week. I really want to do this! It is time to start setting goals and actually sticking to them! I have got to be the Obama of my own life!