What if...

I was talking with a friend this weekend and it got me thinking about where my life would be if things turned out they way I thought they would. My life has had many unexpected turns, but some dramatic ones that stick out in my mind.

When I was 17 and 18 my life was headed down a direction I knew was not for me. I was working at PetsMart with no real future, hanging out with all the wrong people. I left there and decided to turn my life around. I entered Salt Lake Community College and started to study criminal justice. I started working at a call center, and met the man of my dreams (so I thought). I was 19 years old and things started to come together for me. I continued with school and when I was 21 I moved in with my boyfriend. So many promises were made and I thought I would be married by 22. I was planning on transferring up to the U and starting my pre-law degree. I've wanted to go to law school as long as I can remember, and my boyfriend was 100% supportive. We were going to get married and he would work so I could get through law school. All that changed when he decided to go his own way. I moved back in with my parents, and started my life over. I can honestly say that I felt completely devastated by that break-up, I am not sure I have ever truly healed from that relationship, and I can say I have never been in love since, and I have not felt inspired since. I may have never felt inspired again, but I was determined. I eventually graduated with my Associates Degree in criminal justice and transferred up to the U. I graduated in 2002 with a Bachelors in Sociology. I took my LSAT that summer, determined to enter law school. I didn't do as well as I would have liked, and needless to say I never went to law school. I went with plan B... I bought a house, returned to school to get my paralegal degree, and settled into single life. I must say this is far from what I pictured my life to be 8 years ago.

I am grateful for my job as a paralegal, I love going to work most days. I'm grateful for my house because I realize its an accomplishment in its own right. I appreciate my single life when I hear others complain about their married lives. Things may have not turned out the way I thought, but I'm doing alright!