First and foremost, Happy New Year! The first post of the year is always the hardest but I figured I’d tread on something lightly like New Year’s Resolutions.

If you ask me the age old question, “Where do you wanna be in five years?” The answer has always been “happy.” Life is all about discovering what makes you happy if you ask me.

2014 and 2015 taught me how to balance my selflessness – unfortunately it took a few losses to learn -but we all make mistakes and need to stop being so hard on ourselves. I’m way too young to be ashamed for taking stock in my happiness but lets face it, if I don’t no one else will. For the sake of spirit and sanity, I’m not going to be the person throwing life jackets to people while I’m in the boat sinking.

The hardest lesson to learn was not to be afraid to put my communication minor to use and speak up! I had no problem utilizing my fearlessness to speak up for other folks happiness, I should not be afraid to extend the same courtesy to myself.

2015 blessed me well. After being a temp for almost a year, I took  a job (not a career) as a business technical analyst (I still have no idea how I stumbled here or why they pay me so much and what the purpose of my role actually is.( I edit lots of data and reports all day. Anyone who has ever met me knows that this particular black/white role contradicts my colorful personality. But it’s okay! It’s a job and when I clock out I don’t think about it and let’s face it bills won’t pay themselves. Interestingly enough I’ve had a few friends questioning my pouting with “It’s so easy an’ but you make so much.”

That’s true but it brought me to the whole buying happiness fiasco that doesn’t exist in my universe. It took me to go from a very low paying job where I was bringing in about $1100 a month in NYC to get to a higher paying one to realize that buying happiness is BS because I’m fickle and I will always find something to complain about.

All my favorite highlights of 2015 were awesome and none of them involved me blowing loads of money. For example, I won tickets to see Ariana Grande in March and that was awesome sauce! The seats were’t great but I was just happy to be there. That’s kind of a metaphor for going through life.

I also went to Cedar twice last year. Once for my best friend’s birthday and the second time I won an all expenses paid trip. It was the experiences during that trip that made it, not the money spent.

The third highlight of the year was my friend since junior high surprised me for Christmas and showed up at my house. That was awesome and memorable. You could always be rich in things but things can be easily taken away and experiences are forever.

Happiness is a state of being and not a state of owning tangible things. I have a lot of tangible things still packed away at an old house and it doesn’t make me any less happier.

I recently edited a friend’s resume and she said something that stuck with me. “Won’t it look bad that I’m 21 and I’ve had so many jobs.” and I laughed and said. “No that means you’re passionate, you know what you want and you’re not willing to settle.” That’s happiness summed up and it doesn’t seem that millennials are job hopping, we’re happiness hunting.

What’s your New Year’s Resolution? How many jobs have you had?