Personal Growth: A Reminder to Myself Days Before My 36th Birthday by Jessica Lawrence

I'm the first to admit that I am not where I thought I would be at 36. I've got an 8-year-old, but I'm divorced. I own my house, but I live in a town I said I would never return to.

And then the comparisons start: I'm the youngest person I know to have already been divorced. I don't have a high-paying job. But, I'm two days away from turning 36, and I'm also finding positives in the negatives:

• I had my heart broken so badly this year. You know what? It wasn't by my ex-husband. I learned to love and trust again. That's huge!

• I own my house, something I did all on my own, without help from anyone. I'd never done that before!

• I have an amazing daughter, who somehow is a remarkably well adjusted and generally a kind kid. I've done that by spending so much time with her since she was born!

• I just became full time at a place that actually makes me feel proud to work at, and I feel like I make a difference every day that I'm there. I've not put my career as a priority since becoming a mother. Now, I am.

I think back to my life four years ago, and it's a drastic change. Friendships lost, marriage ended, houses changing and careers shifting. I've been through so much in the past four years.

So, I'm doing the best I can (almost) every day. Sure, it's been a rocky road, but as Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor."

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