The Bright Side of Life

Growing up in Chicago, for as long as I can remember I grew up listening to the radio station WGN 720 AM. One of the segments that one of their anchors, John Williams did was called The Bright Side of Life. During this segment, listeners would call in with things that currently made them happy or good things that were happening to them.  That's where the title of this post comes from (and now I have the cheesy song he would play - Monty Python I believe? - stuck in my head!)

The last 3 years have been quite the emotional roller coaster leaving me a little messed up emotionally. Not depression but a little down, confused, and frustrated.

Have you ever had those times when someone says something to you or you read something and it hits you like a ton of bricks (or to quote one of my favorite movies, "Hook" - "Like lightning struck my brain!")? Every once in a while that happens to me! I'll just be scrolling along Instagram or Facebook and someone posts a quote that I feel like was put there just for me!

For example, right after Christmas I was trying to decide if I really wanted to stay at the child care center. I wasn't very happy but it was a JOB and I could just try to make the best of it until the end of the school year.  Then, one day I went out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant and this showed up in my fortune cookie.

That was it - I totally agree! I wasn't happy, I felt like I was completely under appreciated and I wasn't going to grow there and six more months would be TORTURE so I handed in my two weeks notice. 

About a year or so ago I was having a really bad week and felt really small and scared and then my friend sent me this:

Ive loved it ever since and it made me feel SO much better! 

Sometimes its a song.  Earlier this year I was out running and it was one of those perfect days but I was a little down. That day there were no jobs I was qualified for and I hadn't heard back on any of the applications I had. That day I had loaded some new songs from this past season of Glee onto my iPod and the song "Be Okay" by the band Oh Honey came on. 

And it literally stopped me in my tracks: This job hunt sucks but I am SO lucky to live in a beautiful place (where I don't have to shovel snow), I have a wonderful, supportive family and thanks to them a roof over my head, food in my belly and I'm not broke. Like the song says. "Can't complain about much these days. " I know I'll be okay - I just have to be patient.

Some of these quotes I've found remind me of important lessons I seem to forget. I have this HORRIBLE habit of worrying about what others think of me or comparing myself to others - so when I saw this I printed it out to remind myself.

  

The last few weeks I've been taking the first steps on what I hopefully will be an exciting new journey into a new career. Of course I'm scared to death because all I've ever done is teach but then the other day my friend, Lou Mongello posted this:

"Like lightning struck my brain!" LOL! I just have to remember I'm not going to be an expert on day 1 and they don't expect me to be. And then I saw something that goes WAY back to a book that I loved when I was about 10.  

(well the actual quote was "With no mistakes in it...yet" but were trying to stay positive here!)

I've also learned that celebrities know what they're talking about every once in a while.  

For example:  

and 

 

(yes I know this was in the movie Nanny McPhee too)

And Audrey Hepburn - more than once I've been inspired by her quotes.  Seriously, did she have someone writing this stuff for her? LOL

That Walt Disney guy knew what he was talking about too! 

So as I (hopefully) embark on this new journey - everybody keep your fingers crossed!