the mysteries of life.

[Val]

so i was talking to a friend on here and it got me thinking about how much things that happen to us can change our lives. at 17 i thought i had my future all mapped out. i was planning on getting married at the end of my senior year and going to college to become a corporate trade lawyer. by the time i was 18 things had changed, i was going through a lot for anyone to have to deal with but i was working on moving on with my life, i'd been accepted to a prestigious university and was continueing on with what i could salvage of the perfect life i had planned. later that year i met another girl and we started dating we dated on and off all throughout college and had made our own plans for the future. i graduated in may of 05 and we took a trip to moorea to celebrate, something about that trip changed me, i realized at that point i'd never be happy as a lawyer i wanted to do something i would really enjoy. that was the summer i fell in love with diving, i decided not to go to law school when we returned home, she went back to school to finish her education as i went on to learn more about diving and gather the certifications i'd need to make a career out of it. as time wore on it took a toll on our relationship and we decided it'd be better if we went our separate ways and work on our individual goals for awhile. flash forward 4 years and things have really changed i've built a nice life for myself in flordia and she just joined a great firm in chicago, we still keep in touch but have acknowledged over the years that we want different things out of life and it no longer makes sense for us to be together. so now i have this great life and i love it, i never wake up wishing i'd done things differently life threw some punches and unexpected curves but i learned to roll with them. im working at building towards the life i want. i still want a family somewhere down the road but have decided i'd rather wait until i was really ready for that stage to come instead of rushing into it because it's what society expects from us. anyways the point is that sometimes what seems like the greatest tragedy today is just to prepare you for the future. dont create a plan for yourself thats carved in stone, follow your heart and do what you know is right while working towards the big picture or you will never really be happy. life is full of what if's and it's up to you to come up with the answer.

[Valérie Charles]

I'm glad to see that there's still people that want to go against the current of this society and follow their passions. I really see myself in your story. Keep pushing, because I think real sucess comes from investing in what your heart really longs for.