Thank you all for your well-wishes! The move to my new apartment went smoothly, though I did knock a dresser into a wall and made a tiny little dent. No other collateral damage, though. Radar (my cat) loves tearing up and down the hallway, and it almost feels like home. Almost. I just have to get rid of my paranoia about burglars while I'm here by myself! My BF doesn't move in for another six weeks, so it's me and Radar holding the fort... alone...

I have been MIA from this community for about three weeks now due to starting my new job.  I was so very stressed about the big change. Going from a fairly prestigious company to one no one has ever heard of. Going from what sounded like a pretty important/impressive job to one people kind of pretended to be interested in. My ego was hurt and I was so so worried and anxious. Training was a bear and made me even more anxious. I really thought I was going to hate this job, to regret my decision....

...


BUT I LOVE IT!  Mind you it's only been a week but I really really like it. It is so much less stressful, the people are fun and nice, even the nurses I speak to all day are mostly nice! I have Mondays off which makes a huge difference somehow. And I work four ten hour days that fly by. I also get paid 10% extra to work from 7pm-11pm which I was bummed about... but I end up having a lot of time to read during those hours which makes it wonderful! 10% extra to read a book a night!? And somehow the pay is higher than I calculated which never hurts.

I'm so glad I went with my gut and went for the change.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Some anxiety I had about my relationship has suddenly cleared itself up as well.

I can't help but think all of these good things are coming from the positive energy you all have been sending me ;) !

I'm moving tomorrow to a new place with the love of my life. My childhood bedroom, which has been the same ever since I left for college, has been dismantled in preparation for my little sister's new baby. I've lived away from home for two years so far, but always had the comfort of knowing that *if* anything ever went wrong, I could always go home. I'm afraid that's gone now! I'm excited for my new home, but scared of the new era that is dawning. Everyone grew up so fast. 

welcome to new members and a wave to established members! :-)

once again i just want to say how much i enjoy all interactions in this community!

i would like to give a little friendly nudge to our newest members and ask them if they would like to introduce themselves to the community. we'd love to hear a little about you, if you don't mind sharing; your real name, and maybe a little bit about what you'd like from the community. :)

and also a friendly reminder to everyone else to get as much involved with the community as possible so that we can all truly feel connected! (please don't feel pressured into responding to people, but i just like to remind everyone that the point of the community is communication and interaction, so that's what i'm encouraging once in a while!).

also, i was pleased to see that some people are also sharing their 'happy posts'. indeed, you don't *just* have to post stuff that you find difficult or are having emotional problems with, while that is perfectly fine of course also.

(:

anyway, thanks again for being a lovely bunch of "connectors", that's probably not a word, but i don't care.

here a pretty picture to celebrate all of you:

Behind a cloudless sky,

Is a veil of stars.

A veil that hides what I can only imagine is more balls of fire and vacuous space in a world filled with space. 

Space that I can't fill with my being thus my purpose being so little as to disaffect my family and my 'friends'.

When the world gets so unbelievably big and continues on without you moving an inch.

I can't remember the last time I laughed without dying a little inside. There is no safety net here in this new stage of my life; no collaborative lunchtimes or motivation to make one.

My name is Anna Francesca, but I prefer Francesca. After 17 years I still have to provide prove that Francesca is a better name than Anna - I prefer 'Free' to 'Grace from God'. I still have to defend my intelligence because my uni degree is somewhat trivial to most, and I have to constantly fight with myself asking Why I still care.

It's nice that people care what others are feeling, I truly admire the shade of altruism that you use and other people choose to ignore.

But wondering your place in a world that you feel is constantly turning; why does it matter?

I'm 26.
I've been married for almost 4 years.
I've been at my company for 7 years.
I'm successful in my career.
I own my own home.

When am I going to feel like an adult? Like, a full, bona-fide adult? Most of the time, I feel so unsure about everything. I think it's stems from my biggest flaw: demanding perfection from NO ONE but myself. I feel like I have to do everything right and perfect.

I'm working on learning how to fail. Maybe then I'll feel more grown-up. Right now I just feel... unsteady, like a kid learning to ride a bike without training wheels.

I think you are all such sweet people with a lot to share. I love reading this community and feeling connected with you! I can't say I've got much going on in the way of trauma, as things are going as smoothly right now as they have in a long time! But, I'm here and I'm happy to have exposure to all of you!

Hello, my name is Kristel. I am 24, I live in Belgium and if all goes well, I will have a Masters degree in English and Dutch Literature by next year.
My username, 'dagdroomgnoom', is dutch for ‘daydreaming gnome’, and I think that’s a pretty accurate description of me. I’m not very tall and I am always dropping things and running into things because I’m too busy daydreaming ;)
Unlike most other members here, I am not very artistic, I have two left hands, two left feet, two left ears, and a horrible sense of rhythm and direction. But I really enjoy watching the beautiful things that other people make :)

I joined this community because I really like the idea of empathizing with others and I want to care about others and feel connected to others. I have trouble doing this in my everyday life because I am shy, and insecure about my looks, skills and intelligence and afraid to fail people. So I am very grateful for the internet and communities such as these!

I hope to get know you all beter!
Warm wishes,
xxx kristel