The Year of the 360

As in 360 degrees. And by 360 degrees I really mean 180 degrees, because the impulse is to always say the former, for whatever reason - I make no apologies for my nonsensical tendencies. And really, what this all means is that this has been the year of deliciously delightful, epically painful and ridiculously redeeming topsy-turvey changes in so many areas of my life. Let's review 2010 by the month, shall we...

January: Tying up my loose ends in Dallas, figuring out the deets of Uhaul vans and furniture storage in NYC and making a mad scramble to find a Brooklyn roomshare with someone I've never met before. Seatbelt buckled and ready for liftoff.
February: Leave my lovely life in Dallas for big adventures in the Big Apple; unemployed, struggling to get my handbag business off the ground, happy to be closing the long distance gap on a 3+year relationship with my beau. We'll finally be together!
March: Hard times in the big city. Unemployment stinks. Rooming with strangers stinks even more. But more determined than ever to make this work...Brooklyn is home.
April: Do a few local markets for my bags, find a few local retailers willing to start carrying my stuff. Land a wholesale gig in Paris! Try to forge a studio space out of a 9x6 ft space that is also my bedroom, storage and dining area (when my roommate's bf is visiting)...but I kind of like the challenge.
May: Work has been found, albeit in the very industry I've been working in for the past 8 years and struggling to get myself out of...but hell, I'm just happy to have the funds to get out of rooming with strangers and start to feel "settled" in Brooklyn.
June: The beau is no more. Nothing more to say about that.
July: Doing local markets for my bags throughout NYC, reaction is positive. In the meantime, the day job becomes increasingly stressful and starts turning me into a negative, sullen version of myself that frankly, I just don't like being around. I imagine how other people must feel around me and decide that something must be done. The question is what...
August: Decide my mental and physical health trump a fat salary. Give my 2 weeks to the day job. Decide to take a position in the retail industry and give my bag biz a full-time go. Never felt lighter, happier or more "right" in my life.
September: Enjoy the fact that my schedule is completely erratic, I am pinching pennies, and every moment of every day is spent doing something that I would absolutely choose to do.

And here, today - the last day of September - I sit and reflect, and am amazed at all that has transpired in the past 9 months. Every day feels like an adventure of my own making, be it big or small...I never know who I'm going to meet, what new opportunity will present itself, or what new crazy idea will pop into my head that must be acted upon - and finding the courage to do so gets easier with each passing day. What I do know is that my life is now all about the 360 (i.e. 180) degree spin, 2010 will be a year that I'll never forget, and that I can't wait to see what the coming days, months and years are going to bring for me.

Hopefully...for those of you who are on the fence about doing something that seems scary but will change your life for the better - this post will be the nudge that you need to find the courage to just bleeping do it. Life's too short to not be living it to the fullest.