My House Got a Facelift

Nothing means summer is here more than block parties and barbecues (credit: Flickr)

With summer pretty much here, it’s that time of year when everyone calls in their landscapers to mow the lawn and spruce everything up around the house. One neighbor had the whole street blocked off with every contractor, roofer, and chimney sweep in the area working on their property. I guess they really want their home to stand out with all the block parties and barbecues coming in the next few months. As I was getting in my car before I started the day, I stood outside and really looked at my house. This is the same place I have been living in for the past eighteen years, and it felt like I this was the first time I ever saw it before.

It was strange to think that I spent so much time inside my house, that I never really gave it a good look on the outside. I am either running out the door in a rush to make it to work or dragging my exhausted body up the stairs to pass out for the day. I’m going in and out so much, I never just take a second to see what everything looks like. As the sun was beating down on my body and beads of sweat started forming on my forehead, I realized this wasn’t just my home, but a reflection of who I am as a person.

The past eighteen years have been one roller coaster ride. I had some of my happiest moments and some of my scariest moments in my small room. I’ve had girlfriends over and I’ve had some friends that I no longer talk to step through my front door. I lost my first tooth that the tooth fairy still owes me money for and I went through puberty all in one place. I experienced all these things in this house, but I didn’t realize what had happened until I looked at myself from the outside.

The beginning of this year was a really rough point in my life. Not enrolled in school and broke, I was at a very low point. I was just going through the motions of the day, but I wasn’t really doing anything. It wasn’t until I went on Facebook that I noticed how lost I really was. We all grow up and build foundations for what we want our lives to be like. Everyone is pretty much equal and continues building support through junior high and high school until they are independent enough to expand on what they want. As I was still sitting on my foundation, I saw all my friends who built these wonderful structures of life with memories and accomplishments. It really made me take a step back, but I’m glad it knocked me down so hard.

As I was laying on my back speechless, it was the exact thing I needed. Being at rock bottom, I got a good view of my where I was at. This point on my journey was exactly like staring at my house. I saw things the for the first time that I never realized before. I had a lot of things to work on, but I still had a sturdy foundation to build on. The paint may be chipping and a few shingles may be hanging by an edge, but I could make a house I could be proud of. The only way I could make this happen is if I put in the hard work and dedication.

Once we look from the outside, we can see a lot of things we need we can work on in our life. (credit: Flickr)

I may not be ready for summer barbecues and pool parties, but I am making the right steps in order to be where I want in my life. Our life is like a house, we sometimes get so lost on living inside it that we don’t take care of the things we don’t see on a regular basis.   Everyone should take a second and just look at themselves from an outside perspective, I guarantee you will see something new you have never noticed before.