Things I learned in 2010

• Being single sucks sometimes, but being in bad company is indescribably worse.
• Laughter really is the best medicine. Sometimes, it's your only choice.
• South American dentistry is heavily underrated. Though they could stand to prescribe some stronger pain meds.
• England was not my favorite, but I'm willing to give it another try.
• Divorce and breakups are contageous. Don't believe me? Try 5 out of 5 in the family in under 10 months.
• One morning you're going to wake up and realize you're essentially living your dream. You're also going to realize you're not happy. You're going to have to cope.
• Giving up sex for a month was not an intelligent move. Neither was giving up cheese or coffee.
• Being unemployed is scary. Being unemployed, taking on a pile more expenses to get yourself just a smidge closer to where you want to be, and being determined to live your dream and not settle for less is terrifying.
• Crunching numbers and realizing that you will soon be able to not only break even, but save a little is possibly one of the biggest reliefs out there.
• Losing someone forever is awful, and time doesn't make it hurt less. It just hurts different.
• Before you buy a car that you're going to do a lot of highway driving with, test drive it on the highway.
• Some boys are not ready to be useful. Or around. This will drive you crazy, but it might not be a bad thing.
• Babies really are an excellent way to start people. Other people's babies are great to practice on.
• It's totally ok to say no and walk away from bad jobs, bad people, and bad ideas.
• Asking for Space is fine, but be prepared to get a whole LOT of it.
• There are people in your life who will show up almost exclusively when they need something. Then there are people who almost magically show up exactly when you need someone, often before you even realize you need them. Expend energy accordingly.
  
• It just might be true that everything happens for a reason. The universe has a plan. You might not know it, or like it, but you're gonna have to deal with it.
• It gets worse before it gets better. Rock bottom is a lot deeper than it seems, but it does eventually, slowly, painfully get better.
• I am a kinesthetic learner. Right down to relationships and emotions. I need to feel it hurt before I truly understand and believe that it will hurt.
• Nice cars are great for other people to have. Turns out, boys who drive those nice cars fall into the same category.
• Miami Airport still sucks.
• If "he's too nice" is used a reason to not date someone, you really, really need to re-examine your criteria.
• Demand honesty and accept nothing less. And for the love of all that is pretty, stop making excuses for other people's shitty behavior.