Over it

I decided this morning, like, three seconds ago, that it's time to get over the melodrama of being 22. So what? I am 22, I am not remotely close to perfect, but who the crap is? No, I don't have some ridiculously fabulous life, but I have MY life, and I really can't complain. I have income, a great place to live in a place people vacation in, and I have my whole life ahead of me! No more beating myself up, no more complaining about this or that. It's been a long, hard year, but like my mom says, "nothing good or bad lasts forever." And this "bad" is about to be over with.

I just finished "Waiter Rant" by The Waiter, which is surprising considering I started it just a few days ago. The Waiter became a, well, a waiter in his late 30's after losing a number of jobs, er', careers. It was meant to be a temporary thing, but 7 years later here he is, manager of a high end, well known restaurant in New York City. This was not the life he planned on living. So the waiter begins hating his job: the customers, employees, boss, the lifestyle...and yadda, yadda, yadda. Long story short The Waiter starts a blog (Waiter Rant), gets a book deal, goes on Oprah, and now here I am, reading his book and writing this blog. I'm thinking, "I like to write, I'd love to write a book, or rather children's books, but will I have to endure 20 years of failure and hating my life before I get there?"

Not more than 24 hours later and I am almost finished with "LA Candy" by Lauren Conrad. Yes, the Lauren Conrad we've all come to love (?) on "The Hills." Three, no, two pages in I realize what I've gotten myself into. Really? Lauren got a book deal for this? Ok, ok, I'm smart enough to know she got the book deal beacuse of her celebrity, but still. Talk about dichotomy. There's The Waiter, who pretty much failed at everything besides waiting tables, and even by the end he was pretty much sucking at that too. And then there is Lauren. Plucked right out of Laguna Beach High School from the parking lot (or so I here), shot to fame as a cheated on high school sweetheart, move to LA, "reality" show fame hits, and BAM: fame, a little fortune, clothing line (even if it is failing), and a BOOK deal? Come on. She's got to be no more than 24. Part of me has to absolutely commend her for taking hold of opportunities that fell in her lap, but the other part of me says, come' on! If she can write a book, God willing I can to. And I can do a lot of other things too.

So there is The Waiter who sucked at life, got stuck in a job he had a love/hate relationship with and then there is Lauren. "Discovered" in her high school parking lot and shot to fame by MTV "reality". Both end up with book deals. Both end up in a place they never dreamed of. Both end up with fame, fortune, and ultimately a career they are in love with (hopefully). I can do it too, right? Now what was it I wanted to be when I grow up again?

OK, maybe I am being naive. Maybe they hate their jobs. Maybe they hate their lives. Either way they are on their way. I am too, just on a very different path. And I can't wait to see where I end up.