Step 13: Take a Step Back Sometimes. You Can't Fix Everything

Dear Internet, I am addicted to solving other people's problems. Disharmony in my social circle makes me jittery and because I'm kind of a control freak whenever someone I care about is less than happy I have to roll up my sleeves, get my big rubber fix-this-shit gloves on, and fix their shit.

And sometimes Internet, as I have recently realized, I am incapable of fixing said shit.

Even when I'm wearing my steel-toed repair-stuff boots and my waterproof and tear-resistant critical thinking smock. But.... *deep breath*.... that's OK.

Believe it or not, sometimes other people are capable of, and in fact need to, solve their own damn problems. There are also some problems out there that no amount of stressing over can solve. War, cancer, and potential Earth-asteroid collisions come to mind here.

So ladies and gentlemen your step for today is to accept that you shouldn't try to fix everything. Be a good friend/family member and support others through their hard times but don't make their problems your problems. If you need to take a step back, do so. No matter how hard you try, you can't force someone to be happy or to deal with something they don't want to deal with and you certainly can't will the glaciers not to melt. So give yourself a break ;)

xoxo Hannah

Step 12: Respect Nature

Yesterday I think I learned a little bit about karma. Specifically I learned that when you disrespect nature by littering a gum wrapper and then entertain yourself by injuring a bunch of ants and feed to Tyler's Venus fly trap, nature will find it appropriate to put this guy in your bed at 2AM.

His name is Sand Tiger Beetle and he lived in sand deposits along rivers. He also enjoyed the neck and back support of my Temurpedic mattress pad. I say enjoyed because he's dead now. He was squished by my roommate's sandals. Unfortunately being dead didn't stop his mangled corpse from magically appearing in MY sandals this morning. 

I think I've finally put Sand Tiger Beetle's murdered soul at rest by giving him a proper burial in the toilet, but I can only wait and pray that his reign of terror has finally ended.

So ladies and gents my tip for you today is this: pick up your gum wrappers and respect the ants or the ghost of Sand Tiger Beetle will come after you next.

xoxo Hannah