First before anything else, I want to wish everyone a kick-ass International Women’s Day!

There are a lot of situations and surprises in life that creep up on us unexpectedly. You can’t ever truly be prepared for people walking out of your life, or losing the passion in what you study, getting laid off or quitting a job, or an untimely demise. It’s also nice to be unprepared for better news, like a promotion, a new relationship, or a spontaneous trip abroad. The only thing that’s guaranteed in this life is that things will change. Take a second to reflect on your life. Are you in the same situation you were a year ago? Same job? Same major? Same mentality? Same friends or significant other? Did you do something for the first time recently? Majority of you should be able to identify something different (I mean.. I hope you do. Being stuck in the same cycle must be boring).

(also, happy almost spring, my favorite season of the year)

This isn’t to say change is easy. As someone who is clinically diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder (AKA — I don’t handle change very well), I know well that it’s difficult to break habits and be ready for things to not go the way you need them to. By nature, we are creatures of comfort and habit. Why do you think your grandparents keep going to Orlando every summer instead of traveling to some cool new place they haven’t been before? We get stuck in a pattern of comfort, sometimes so comfortable that when some life event gets dumped on you by surprise, it’s a recipe to crash and burn all around.

How can I embrace change? If you’ve kept tabs on me at all (I love my readers that do; You guys keep me going), you know that so much has changed since I started blogging back in the fall, and as usual, almost all of it was unexpected and forced. Now that I am starting to fight through this rut in my life, I’ve come to realize a lot about life. A lot of my theories have been reaffirmed, the most important of them being that life is chaotic by nature. It’s a series of peaks and troughs, and although you can try your best to control the way things go, you will go through both highs and lows. There isn’t much you can do except find the strength to cope with lows and continue to strive for the highs.

I’ve also learned that there are ways and mindsets that make adapting to change a little more smooth. It helps to be introspective about your current situation, whether it be academic, financial, etc. Remember that nothing is permanent and be open minded and prepared for the fact that change will happen, good or bad. It doesn’t hurt to be a optimist too. I really struggle with this personally, but my friends who are the most receptive to change and ride it like a tamed wave are the most optimistic people I’ve met, and I strive for that every day. Again, we are habitual by nature, and some days we take 1 step forward and 2 steps back, but food for thought:

(By the way, I hope you’re all ready to get wrecked by Daylight Savings Time this Sunday. Don’t forget to turn your clocks forward an hour. I forget every single year without fail.)