Archives for January 2013

I was a week away from going back to visit California, my home, after only five months of moving to Arizona; I had to plan my vacation ahead as my mind filled with ideas of grand adventures. My trusty Evernote account open, I made a note titled “California Plans”. I would have named it adventures instead but that thought hadn’t crossed my mind yet, also it would have been cheesy. The list included activities such as group karaoke, snowboarding, fencing, rock climbing, and several other things I have never done before; I longed to tackle everything in two weeks. It was going to be an amazing first return home.

December 15th arrived and my buddies picked me up so I could surprise my grandparents who weren’t expecting me yet. The surprise goes as planned then I made plans for the night to meet up with them and some others.

It was just half a year ago when the inevitable came, the oncoming and radical shift in lifestyle that I had been expecting for the past four or five years, the day I moved to Arizona. I had always known I would have to leave my relatively easygoing and responsibility-free lifestyle, moving to a more unknown state in which its inhabitants live at a much slower pace. You see, I was always a Southern California boy who was born and raised for the past 18 years, so how could I not be sad? There was no way I could blame this life changing decision on anyone else. It was all me. It was truly a daunting decision.

Why was I moving? Not only do Californians bombard me with this question, but this curiosity follows me even in Arizona. Quite honestly, I do not have a very good answer to that anymore. Why leave the life of endless potential adventures to settle in an area where there is not much going on? Why leave the people who loved me and the relationships I have built? Why go into a foreign land and start up again? I ask myself these questions a lot these days.

The thing is, I was running from something and I hate to admit it to myself. I was ultimately tired and unhappy with what I had. My family life I felt was stagnant, yet at the same time overbearing. Yet, looking back and comparing it to my current one, California’s was not bad. I noticed plenty of flaws in my social life that I felt discontent with, be it the quality of certain aspects or perhaps the loss of previous relationships.

Then again, towards the end of that chapter in my life, I realized my close circle of friends was quite amazing. I joke with a close buddy of mine from my former life that we had a very “overpowered group”, meaning we had a great mix of unique individuals that are hard to find elsewhere. Perhaps I’m just nostalgic.

As a side note, I debated whether or not if this post belonged on this blog. Education is frequently a very one-sided argument and I wrote it back in June of 2012. Well, here it is:

College is a wonderful time for everyone, especially eager high school graduates willing to take out loans that will indenture them into a life of compounding debt long after they graduate from college.

Why not pursue a college degree? After all, it awards you a shiny piece of paper they call your credential, and all it costs is about five years (which is the average) and several decades of debts from yesteryear and beyond. If you are not convinced that you need a college education just yet, there are tons of testimonials that can convince you otherwise.

Just ask Allison Brooke Eastman’s fiance, who gladly broke off their engagement after discovering her $170,000 debt. The charming young man was more than happy to break off their wedding plans to start flipping patties at a local McDonald’s in order to pay back the college debt. The previously soon to be married man was presumably ecstatic upon hearing about the debts Ms. Eastman has acquired over the years from her student loans. The young man asked to not be named directly but was quoted saying “I couldn’t be anymore happier the moment she told me what the big six digit number was. I don’t think the happiness from the wedding itself could have provided me such excitement!”

Every time I hear someone comment and say “I’m tired,” they tend to mean that in the physical sense. I nearly always comment immediately after, and say or ask, “Aren’t you tired of being tired?” People usually laugh it off and think I say it in jest, but I mean this in the most profound manner possible.

Being tired can apply to not only your physical being, but as well as your mental stamina. Now think about the people in your life. Most likely, many of them are tired in either, if not both of the ways I have mentioned.

Perhaps you are one of these people, which is why this title caught your attention. I will break down both of these categories and provide insight into how to break the cycle of being tired. If you are tired of being tired, it is time to make a change. Let’s stop being tired. It is important to conquer your mindset of tiredness and I am here to provide you with the tools to (re)gain control of your life.