The Graduate...

“Well, that’s done. I graduated from college. What’s for dinner?” - Me.

It took me a while, but I finally did it. I graduated from college. It was awful. I have no idea how I did it. I have no idea where I found the time, or how I found the energy, but it is done. I feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment knowing I finished something I started over a decade ago. If I would have stayed in school all those years I would be a doctor by now, but whatever.

I am a walking billboard for adult learners. I am that commercial of a person sitting up in bed while everyone else sleeps typing away on an essay, finishing homework on the bus ride into work, or taking my lunch break to complete a math problem while trying not to get sandwich crumbs on my MacBook Pro. I did all these things, and although I thought it was terrible at the time, I look back and am proud of the determination I had to get this damn diploma. I have no idea if it will impact or improve my quality of life, but this was a personal goal to get my degree, so I got it.

Over the last two years, while I was in school, I also worked my but off at work and was offered a promotion. During this time I had been dancing the line of work-life balance for 20+ direct reports. Not an easy task when you have a final due every few weeks. We bought a home in Nashville, TN. We moved across the country twice, and we got engaged. And somehow during all of that, I still found time to accomplish my academics. If I can do this, anyone can. I know, I may sound like I am patting myself on the back, but I don’t care, this is my story. I know a million other people have done this, and good for them. Going back to school was rough, but at the same time, it was rewarding. I am proud, let me have my moment.

On a recent call with my soon to be mother-in-law, I vented to her about how I just wanted to drop out. She listened to my complaints and then told me, “You are in your last class, it’s almost over, and when it’s done you’ll be glad you started this two years ago instead of today.” These words stood out to me because every accomplishment starts today. While I was in school, I did not tell anyone; this was a personal quest to prove to myself I could do it. In two years, whatever you start today could be accomplished. Are you going to get started right now? Or, are you going to wait another two years and say to yourself “Next year I will get to that” or “This Saturday I’ll start.” We all know we are full of shit when we say that, so get started on whatever goal you have now, you’ll be glad you did.

What will you get started today?

-YourFriendMatt

My Future Wife...

Jamie and I are Annual Passholders at Disneyland. It is our getaway from reality. We do not have any family out here in California, so we treat Disney as a second home where we feel welcomed and taken care of. When we are there, you can usually find us bouncing between parks, eating Mickey pretzels, or grabbing Fastpasses on as many rides as we can. We consider ourselves very lucky.

We have visited Disneyland so much that we sometimes come up with new ways to experience the parks. There are entire subcultures of Annual Passholders doing the same. Hidden Mickey searches are one of them. The Hidden Mickey search is awesome, and I have done it a few times. These Hidden Mickey's could be anywhere throughout the park and could be in any shape of the iconic three-circle Mickey silhouette. I have found them in the art in some of the hotels, landscaping, on castmembers, on mailboxes throughout the park, or even on some of the rides hidden somewhere in a dark corner.

This past weekend Jamie decided to spice things up by taking as many photos as possible throughout the park doing her new favorite 90's pose. The result is pretty incredible. See the silly pictures above. 

This is my future wife, and I could not be more in love.

-YourFriendMatt

A few weeks off...

It has been an interesting few months. I took some time off from updating YourFriendMatt.com to wrap my head around it. When I think about it, the last year has been a whirlwind. We bought our home and moved in. We got settled into a new city and routine. Jamie found work. We started making our house a home by decorating, repainted and refinishing the whole thing. We even added a deck on the back half of the house. 

If that does not sound like a lot, we just got engaged in July and set a date for late 2018. We have been busy, and I could not be more proud or excited for what will happen next.

Stay tuned.