Fortune

Maybe about 7 years ago, I went to your average Chinese buffet to eat. My favorite part of going to Chinese buffets isn't just the all you can eat cause I'm a fat ass, but it's getting the fortune cookie at the end. Well, on this particular time, I got my fortune cookie and the fortune simply stated "Admire those who succeed and learn from their success." I loved this fortune so much that I kept it and I still have it in my wallet to this day. It took me a couple years for this message to really hit me, but it finally did. Back then the people I mostly associated with were a group of good people, but they really had no direction. To them life was about hanging out, the club, and men... that's about it. And it was fun at the time, but I had to realize that people are like goldfish. If you keep the goldfish in a small bowl it will stay small, but if you put a goldfish in a bigger tank it will grow. My friends lived in a small tank and I was allowing them to keep me there. Eventually I made the decision that I wanted to grow. I wanted more out of life and I needed to associate myself with like minded people. If I wanted to become more I needed to leave the small tank and swim with bigger fish in the bigger bowl. So I did. When my friends found out I was trying to grow as a person, they tried to cut me down and bring me back to their tank. So I had to stop associating with people who would rather see me stay small instead of encourage me. It might be a hard thing to do, but true friends with push you up to the next level instead of drag you back down with them. This realization not only went for friends, but also for the type of guys I dated. I got tired of dating guys that didn't have anything going for themselves. Not to mean I'm a gold digger or anything because I can take care of myself. I don't need a man with lots of money, an expansive car, or a big house. I need a man with drive, ambition, and potential. He has to want something from life and has to want more for himself. I have alot in life that I want to accomplish and I need someone that can be right there next to me on the journey. Not someone thats just along for the ride. When i make the decision to open my restaurant, he needs to be doing his thing too so we can both be living up to our fullest potential. So now I have matured and started expecting more from myself. I'm still the same person and will hang out with anyone, but the people I now closely associate with are on a more defined lifepath. They're actually trying to do something with their lives and they inspire me to do the same. I now have a better job and im in school working toward starting a career. I also have become more active in my community and more aware of current events that effect me personally. Im now doing things like voting that the old me thought was a waste of time. Admire those who succeed and learn from their success.