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remember the never ending story? more specifically, remember the three doors atreyu had to walk through to find the cure for the nothing? and even more specifically, remember the third door? the one where atreyu had to look at himself for who he truly was?

i always thought atreyu’s decision was silly - i thought that looking in a mirror and walking through seemed much easier than running past two huge winged mammoths with lazor eyes… i guess that made sense to my eight year old mind… but i’m realizing that when one gets to be twenty-eight, they tend to think quite differently…

i’ve realized that at twenty-eight, you really grasp just what you’re capable of and gain an authentic understanding of who you really are. you see the lives you have affected and those that have affected you – both positively and negatively. you see that you’ve stubbed your toes a few times and caused yourself to learn things the hard way – but you also grow from these lessons and appreciate the strength you didn’t know you had. you can realize that the reason you’re frustrated with someone else is really because you’re frustrated with yourself. you can set boundaries and stop the bad habits. you can realize your own selfishness. you can love and let yourself be loved. you can score 20,418 points in bejeweled and still meet your monthly quota. you can speak your mind or you can hold it all in. you can vocalize your fears and you can make a difference. you get to make a choice. and when you smile, you can feel that you are whole.

twenty-seven was good, but i have a feeling twenty-eight will be even better…