I know I haven’t been around for years: almost 4 years to be exact, so hi…how are you? This blog has been on my mind, and I’ve been debating with myself about shutting it down. After all, do I really need to continue paying for hosting when I am no longer blogging? I hadn’t even logged onto my dashboard in years, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a bunch of new comments (and they’re not spam!) and that I still get hits on some very old blog posts. This proves that nail polish is still as big as ever even if the heyday of blogs is long behind us.
So, let me see: what have I been up to? Well, I’m still working at the same place and just reached my 12-year work anniversary (yay!). I also decided to go back to school to get my master’s degree and I am completing my first year in the next couple of months. I’m crazy busy with working full time and going to school full time, but I’ve never been happier nor more inspired. If any of you stumble upon this post and were with me back when I first started my blog in 2010, you may recall that I was a complete and utter mess. I was going through a deep depression and was so unhappy in every facet of my life. Nail polish helped me by giving me a creative outlet, made me feel connected to a close-knit community, and allowed me to meet some amazing women. Although our lives have naturally taken different and diverging paths, I still keep in touch with many of them and I’m grateful to have them in my life.
Before taking my last final, my professor shared with us a message that his professor gave to him. He told us a story about how he had decided to quit law school and changed his mind after going to his last class with his favorite professor. This is the message that he shared with us:
Later this year, I will be 47. Forty-fucking-seven. Who goes back to school at this age? Is it strange to be in a class with young adults? Sometimes. Do I care? NO. I am done with being quiet and reasonable. I want to do the things that I love and enjoy my pursuits. Education has always been extremely important to me, and I am not pursuing this degree because I want career growth—although I wouldn’t mind that. What I want is to be challenged and forced to think and consider different topics. Was I excited about having to take advanced financial accounting? Hell no. Did I learn a lot? Yes, and it was actually interesting even if I will never go into finance. When are we done with these feelings of inadequacy and stop worrying about impostor syndrome? I still question myself: I’m not smart enough, who would care about what I think, why would anyone put me in a position of power? I believe in myself and I know my experience and knowledge are valuable. We all have to take risks in life, and it’s never too late. In the words of Wayne Gretzy per Michael Scott: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” You may remember how much I love The Office so I couldn’t miss an opportunity to squeeze this in.
So that’s what I’ve been up to. I still wear nail polish even if I rarely buy any, and I don’t keep up with the drama the way I used to. Who remembers Acetone Alley? Wooooooooooo! I don’t know if I am going to finally shut the blog down especially since I don’t plan to start blogging again about nail polish, but someone reminded me about my blogging today and I felt inspired to write this post. I hope someone out there reads this. I hope someone remembers me and all my silly nail polish stories. I hope you are all living your best life because I sure am.
