Pursuit of Happiness

I met my husband on World of Warcraft.

Wait, what?!

Yeah, that's right.  I met my husband on a video game that, at one point, literally eleven million people in the world played.

At the time that we met, I was living in Las Vegas where I was raised for 17 years of my life.  I had lost my job a few years prior due to the economy and was struggling to find work.  Since I did not have an income, I couldn't afford to put myself through school.  I put in countless applications for work, but no luck.  I decided to give the United States Air Force a try.  I trained every single day to become the most lean I had ever been.  I ran and lifted weights several times a day.  I even ate on a strict schedule where I planned my meals, snacks and drinks at a specific time during the day.  Every single day.  I met Karl (my husband) around this time that I was training for the military.  On the day I was finally allowed into the Military Entrance Processing Station, I flew to Utah and passed all of the physical exams, with one exception: my heart rate was too high.  I was separated from the group by a female general practitioner who led me into a private exam room.  I was instructed to take my shirt and bra off and lay on the bare exam table.  I remember looking up at the ceiling and wanting to cry as the doctor told me about her life in the Navy as a medic while she attempted to connect the EKG to my skin.  The table was freezing cold, and the EKG suction attachments failed to stick to my skin for a good 35 minutes.  During this time, everyone else who had gone into MEPS with me were finished for the day and going to get sworn in within a few hours.  My EKG revealed that, indeed, my heart rate was too fast to be admitted safely into the military.  I had gone through every single test to be told at the end of my journey that I could not make it, when I was so close.  I could no longer look forward to calling my mother and father to announce that I was officially, after over a year of waiting, a part of the United States Air Force.  I felt like a failure to them and to myself.  I dressed myself and walked into an empty office and felt my eyes sting with tears as I was told to fly back home.  I had nothing left after that.  I felt stranded with no options.  No work, no school, and now no military.

My parents were supportive of me not making it into the military.  I believe they knew how much I wanted to be a part of something so great.  I also knew that they were aware that I was desperate at this point, and felt defeated.  I was tired of not doing anything productive.  My mother suggested I move to Texas with my father since Houston had great job opportunities.  I packed my bags and dad booked my ticket.  Karl was upset that instead of being one state away, I would be half-way across the country from him if I moved.  I made arrangements with him and my father for Karl to move to Texas once I was comfortable and had a job.  Everyone agreed to this, and I asked my father to have my tickets set up so I could visit Karl for two weeks and fly out of California when I was ready to move to Texas.  Against my mother's wishes, Karl visited for a few days before him and I stuffed his beautiful Mustang GT (which I drive now, yay!) full of all of my belongings and set out to the Golden State in April of 2011.  I loved being around Karl.  Being with him in-person was just like being around him online.  He treated me well, he made me laugh and never let me out of his sight.   For the first time in quite a while, I felt genuine happiness, and I felt whole.  Needless to say, I never moved to Texas to live with my father.

By making this choice, I took a huge risk and I stressed my family out.  My nearest safe-haven was a four-hour drive away.  I had no money to buy a plane ticket (and I had no car) to move back to my mom who was displeased with me moving away in the manner I did in the first place.  I knew that if things didn't work out with Karl, I was on my own.  I couldn't ask for help if I needed it, because I had put myself in this situation.  And because of this, I engraved it into Karl's brain that for the first time in my life, I was depending on someone other than my parents.  Being independent and stubborn, I hated knowing that.  Karl loved that I depended on him, and he swore he would take care of me.

And take care of me he did.  On December 1st of 2012, we got married in Las Vegas, Nevada at an old horse ranch in the great company of our friends and family.

I had emotionally depended on Karl's support for a while after being rejected from the Air Force, and also during the strain I felt with my family after moving.  After being dependent on others my entire existence up until now, I want to figure out my purpose in life. What makes me happy?  What am I passionate about?  How can I help other people stop and think about their purpose in life?  I'm on a pursuit of happiness for myself, and for my fellow kind.  This is what this blog is about.  It's about being happy and doing the things that make you happy.