An exciting year

I never like it when people vow to make a year their "best year" because shouldn't every year be better than the last, ideally? Of course I anticipate 2014 being an awesome year and I'm making some mental changes to make sure that happens, but I also don't want all the other years in life to go down hill after this one's over, right?  So maybe I'll vow to make 2014 my "best year YET."  2013 was pretty damn exciting though.  I finished grad school, which I honestly consider one of my greatest personal achievements.  We got engaged, an idea I had kind of come to terms with never actually doing. We moved across the county, made friends, and started to create a life together here. That's pretty damn exciting.  But I have to admit- I had to remind myself all of this several times over the last month or so.  I don't know if it was the job hunt, the dark short days, or being away from my close friends and family (probably a combination of all three), but I was getting downright depressed and negative which is totally out of character.  I was convincing myself I would never find a job and that I had nothing to be happy about, even when I had opportunities opening up right in front of me and a healthy and loving group of friends and family that I knew I should be thankful for.  But you know what, I think things like that just happen sometimes.  It's easy to get into a funk where you feel worthless and have no energy, but if you keep telling yourself it's okay and don't do anything about it you start to have a problem.  So after an abrupt come to jesus moment this past december, spurred by a much needed trip to visit my BFF in LaLaLand following one of the more emotionally and mentally stressful weeks of my life, I made a promise to myself to genuinely take steps to stop being scared and caring what other people think. Anxiety is good, stress and fear are not.  Anxiety comes from having options and choices.  Fear prevents me from moving forward.  I'm kind of wondering right now why I decided to make this my first post on this blog in over a month, but whatever, that's where I've been and my positive, optimistic outlook is back. So I guess watch out, 2014.