So the end of the year is coming up soon, I realized that this has been one crazy year for me. I have had so much change this past year. I have lost weight. I have changed my look. I have lost some friends, re connected with some old ones and made new ones. I had many realizations about myself, and I need to change. I need to grow, and I need to be true to myself.
Losing weight was huge for me. I have always been heavy. I never thought that I could ever drop the weight. I started with something small. I started to walk. I would walk around my street. I started to see how easy that was. It gave me time to myself to reflect and clear my head. I became more confident and started walking more. I took walks at lunch. This made a huge difference for me. I could focus better in the afternoon, and the pounds continued to drop. With all of this walking I started to cut back on what I was eating. Reducing the amount I was eating and walking after every meal as brought me to where I am today. I am 35 pounds lighter. I feel great, and I am happy with whom I am now.
Once I started to lose the weight, I started to build up my confidence. With my confidence higher and the help of a great friend, I started to change the way I looked. I started with my glasses. When I started wearing glasses, I thought of a certain look, metal frames and I looked older. Now I have nice Ray Ban frames, and they really stand out.
The next thing I worked on was my hair. I am losing my hair, and I did a comb over just like other people do in my situation. It looked terrible. I finally went to a place that could really cut my hair and taught me how to style it so now my hair looks great. I never thought it would look this good.
Clothing is such a challenge for me. When I was heavier, I would always wear something bulky to hide how bad I looked. I did not like how I looked but with some big clothes you would never know. I started with some brand new slim fitting shirts and some brand-new pants, and I was one my way. I started to see the person that I have become, and I liked the way the I looked. It was scary at first, but I made it happen.
Over the years, I have lost contact with friends. This year I decided to reverse that trend. i was going to call people, say hi and try to be a better friend. Knowing that I was so uncomfortable with whom I was, I would continually sabotage myself. I would get close to my friends and then just distance myself. The reason I would do this was simple. I did not feel I was good enough to have friends like them. I lacked the confidence to be a really good friend. I noticed how little I would listen to them when they needed me. If they had a problem, or if they wanted to vent their issues to me, I would interrupt them and try to solve their problems for them. That was not being a good friend, that was being a tool.
I have made some new friends this past year. Each one gets the advantage of the new me. One I met who has been there for me when at was at my worst. Saw that I was struggling and put their hand out to me and was willing to help me every step of the way. They could show me the challenges that I was facing are not impossible to overcome, but I will be better because of the journey. This friend was the catalyst to help me become a better friend, more confident in myself, and learn to be a better person overall. I will never be able to thank them enough.
So 2014 is coming to an end, I am looking forward to what 2015 will bring. I know that new challenges will be coming my way, I am looking forward to them. I am going to continue to fix the bridges that I have damaged with my old friends and make sure that they know I am there for them whatever they need me to do. I will continue to work on myself and be the best person I could be. Thank you for letting me tell you my story this past few months. I am looking forward to sharing with you what happens next.
Happy Holidays from the Redhead Rambler
Keep Rambling ........
I am so proud of you! Your determination is very motivating and impressive. I am honored to have seen your transformation take place and can't wait to see what you are going to do in 2015. Very proud to be your friend, Andrew. Keep it up!! Happy New Year.
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