Why my puppy is just as awesome as your baby

I recently read a blog post that said something along the lines of, 'your puppy sleeping through the night for the first time doesn't compare to my baby sleeping through the night. So stop comparing my baby to your puppy.'
I took a certain amount of offence to this statement.
I do agree that they are completely different things. But people just try to relate to one another and for some of us, our puppy sleeping through the night for the first time is the closest thing we will ever experience to your baby sleeping through the night. Our puppy finally being potty trained is the closest thing we will ever have to your kid being potty trained.
Now I dont have a puppy or a baby but I have recently lost both a puppy and a baby. I have always wanted to be a mom so when I found out I was pregnant at 20 years old I was suprisingly estatic. When I lost that baby and was told that the chance of me ever getting pregnant again were slim to none and being able to carry a baby past 20 weeks would be never happen. So I went home and cuddled my 9 week old puppy and realized that that puppy was the closest thing I would ever have to a baby. From then on out every new thing he did became just as exciting to me as your baby doing something new is for you.
They are completely different things, but never tell someone their puppy isnt as special or as important as your kid. Because to them, that puppy might be the closest thing to a kid they will ever have. Just let that 'puppy owner' try to relate to the excitement you get to experience with your baby becuse being a 'puppy owner' is sometimes the closest thing someone will ever get to being a mom.

In Your Twenties

"Your 20's are your 'selfish' years. It's a decade to immerse yourself in every single thing possible. Be selfish with your time and all aspects of you. Tinker with shit, travel, explore, love a lot, love a little, and never touch the ground."
                   -Kyoko Escamilla

This is something I have to remind myself of everyday. I have spent the last few years trying to make everyone else in my life happy and I lost sight of what makes me happy. I will admit, it was a good year full of a lot of lessons and experiences.  But this last year is a year I would never want to live through again. I am so greatful for the experiences and the lessons but I am even more greatful that they are lessons and experiences that I never have to go through again.

I was blessed with an amazing job opportunity in the beautiful state of Florida. It was such an amazing job full of amazing learning experiences.  I was able to work with some of the best massage therapists in the United States. As well as some of the most prestigious clientele. This, I wouldn't trade for the world.

I would have liked to have been able to go without a few of the experiences, although I learned a lot from them. Lessons I wish I didn't need to learn but now that I am through them I realize how much I needed to learn them. I very irresponsibly dove into a relationship with a man I barely knew and he went on the journey to Florida with me. I am thankful he was there for me and I had someone there to experience it all with. But near the end of my year in Florida he turned out to be a whole different person than the one I moved there with.

We got ourselves into a very stressful situation and instead of working through it like we had every other stressful situation,  he became abusive. Which, of course, made me very distant and defensive.  Which led to him becoming more contolling and abusive.

I was the girl I promised myself I would never become. I became so insecure and depressed that I actually believed him when he told me he was the only man who would ever love me. I belived him when he told me I wasnt good enough for him or anyone else. Worst of all I believed him when he told me it was my fault when he hurt me.

One day I was reminded of my worth. I had been reminded multiple times but I finally gained the confidence to believe it. That was the best lesson I learned this year. That I have worth. I am a stong, beautiful woman that desrves to be treated with kindness and love. Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and love.

I had spent so much time and energy trying to make this pathetic man happy that I lost sight of my own happiness. I lost sight of who I am and who I want to be. I became someone I never wanted to be. I wasnt treating myself or anyone else with kindness and love.

So, having lost sight of my 'selfishness' I have made a promise to myself- To make this next chapter of my life, this next decade of my life, the most 'selfish' years. I am now, thanks to the help of an amazing support system, healing and becoming happy again. I am taking this time to focus on myself and doing what makes me happy. Thanking God everyday for giving me the courage to begin a better life for myself.

Always remember your worth.