Beware of Vampires

The past week or so has been really difficult for me personally but when life throws you some serious issues, it’s important to know just who you can trust and rely on.  Lucky for me, I have some great people in my life that I can lean on.  However, it’s in times of crisis that you also notice who is not going to step up for you.

Part of my journey this year has really been about setting myself up to succeed.  To do that I had to let go of a lot of things and people I was holding on to.   The demons from past relationships had to be released and the wounds from bad choices and mistakes had to heal.  People that didn’t bring value to my life had to go too.  Overall, I wanted to create an environment, support system, and mind set to be the best version of myself that I can be. 

A few months ago I was reading a book that had a very interesting take on friendships.  This particular book is called The Everygirl’s Guide to Life by Maria Menounos and I started reading it because I liked her as a journalist but I found myself really enjoying her advice as well.  When it comes to friends, Maria points out the type of people you should seek out to have in your life and those that you should eliminate.  She refers to the latter as “vampires”.  Looking back at where I was when I started this journey and where I am currently, I feel like I’ve done really well with letting go of those types of people. Personally, I didn’t think I was holding on to anything or anyone anymore but even though I’m about a million miles from where I started, I realized recently that there were still some lingering “so called friends” that had to be dealt with.

At one point or another we all let vampires into our lives.  These may be the people that take advantage of us.  They can be the type of friends that take while never or rarely giving anything back in return.  They might even pick and choose when they want to be friends with you based on when it is convenient for them.  They are ones that just assume no matter how little effort they put forth, you will always be friends just because, but it’s that sub-par effort that always leaves you feeling like a second class friend.  These are people to avoid. 

If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that life is too short to live it any other way then how you want to.  I want to spend my time appreciating the people that are there for me and who I am fortunate enough to call friends rather than stress about those who don’t seem to care very much about having me in their life.  It’s not a mean thing or ill will; sometimes it’s just seeing things for what they really are instead of imagining things that aren’t there.  Unlike family, friends are chosen and it’s a choice that we shouldn’t take lightly.  Friends should be the people you know you can lean on through the bad times and who will be by your side to enjoy the good times with you. 

Instead of quotes, this month I am putting a link to the page for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Make a donation to help fight against this terrible disease and get your pink on! 
Want to credit your donation to me?  Search for my name as a walker when you click on this link!  Don't know my name?  Make a donation to the walk anyway and show your support for the cause!
 http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=35970