Well, hello all.

This is the day of my two year anniversary. Officially.

Yes, I've been writing for two years here in Diaryland. And what great awareness have I earned from doing so?

*chuckles*

What I've Learned
1. Sometimes it's better to force myself to write through the pain and irritation.

2. When I write to please my audience, my entries sucketh.

3. When I am most depressed and anguished, those who care fill my life with such joy and encouragement, the likes of which I have not before witnessed.

4. I am a woman who has worth and merit.

5. I'm not alone in being fucked up, even at my age.

6. Sex sells, even diary entries. Which is why I have only 20 regular readers.

7. Sometimes it is necessary to say goodbye, even when I don't want to.

8. Contrary to what the "spice girls" would have people believe, friendship does not last forever.

9. Love; true and deep and life-altering love, does not always feel good.

10. Even if your heart has been shattered, it is possible to recover.

11. Not only recover, but it is possible to become stronger and more happy/at peace.

12. If I have to edit what I say in my diary, it is no longer my diary and I'm not being completely honest with who and what I am.

13. Rape hurts more when it happens to someone I love.

14. Having a child changes a person more than I thought it would.

15. And that's a good thing.

16. Only when I am truly honest with myself, can I be honest with other people.

17. I would rather lie to myself about some things than become a better person.

18. But! I want to be a better person anyway.

19. There are some people who remind me so much of me that it's scary. Very scary.

20. It is possible to stand up to my fear.

21. Dune is not as wonderful and life altering to me as it is to many others.

22. But there are still truths within the story which I can apply directly to my life; and after doing such, lead me into being a better person.

23. It's okay to be angry.

24. It's even okay for me to be enraged.

25. Even if I am enraged, that doesn't mean that I will do something which I will regret later.

26. I am not helpless or hopeless.

27. Sometimes, taking my own advice is a good thing.

28. Just because I don't understand a lesson immediately, doesn't mean I won't understand it after the fact.

29. Just because something seems worthless at the time I am faced with it, doesn't mean it truly is worthless.

30. A foundation is necessary in order to build anything lasting.

31. The foundation is not the last step.

32. It is possible for my father and I to be friends.

33. And: I like him.

34. Pretty words and flattery mean less to me today than they did five years ago.

35. Reading someone else's words often helps me understand things I had ignored or forgotten in my own life.

36. Sometimes, reading someone else's words hurts more than I want to admit.

37. Even though words often hurt, I will survive.

38. I will more than survive, but I will come out at the end of my life with everything I had ever hoped to gain. Even if it isn't in the form I thought it should take.

39. Sometimes it's okay to not get what I think I want.

40. Love really is a choice.

41. No one has the right to place any value upon me.

    And most importantly.

42. I like the person I am. I like who and what I am. I am happy. And, I really like my life.

So, there you have it folks, two years of lessons learned. There are many more, of course, but this is the appetizer, so to speak.

May your every positive dream come true.

And here's to another two years!