Becoming a 'yes' person

About a year ago I became not only burned out from school, but also from the monotonous tone my life had taken. I was in dire need of a drastic change, something full of excitement, full of everything and anything new.

So, my answer was to leave school for a year and move to Los Angeles, Calif.

Luckily I have really understanding parents who knew that eventually I would return to my senses and come back to real life. Although my mom was afraid I would join a gang and become a drug addict, my dad was mostly concerned that I would forgo all my values and morals, give in to Hollywood's influence, become a stripper, or even worse, marry an old man.

I first flew off to find a place to live, returned with a rental price that my parents feared, and the next month I was driving across the country with my mom, my sidekick of a dog, a carload of clothes and a mind full of ideas of how I was going to change my life by becoming a "yes girl."

The first three months, I would have to say, went pretty smoothly. I eventually found a job, which I quit after a month due its interference on my life journey, and pretty much said "yes" to every party invitation I received.

My friends partied with celebrities, went out every night of the week, and, for the most part, did not have jobs. You would think that this lifestyle would never get old, going out for every meal, having the freedom of being hungover by a pool every day, and having the most strenuous part of your life be walking your dog.

Believe me, it gets old. Really old.

I soon realized that I had become a worthless person. My days were spent doing pointless things and having pointless conversations. I needed another change.

So after three months of nothingness I took my "yes girl" status to a more productive realm. I started to look for a career path, applying everywhere I could; but with an unfinished college degree, I was going nowhere fast.

I was becoming bored and restless, and my friends were growing tired of me and my new ambition to become something more than just the next socialite to make a sex tape. I stopped sleeping, and one night I began writing.

I wrote all night, and all through the next day. Pretty soon I had finished writing my first book.

Finally, this was it. I had found my purpose. I was no longer doomed to an unaccomplished existence. I finally had an answer for when people asked me what I did, rather than saying I hung out, partied and took walks.

I quickly took this opportunity and ran, far far away from Los Angeles, away from everything, nothingness, away from my toxic friends. But I took my 'yes' girl frame of mind with me.

I said "yes" to going back to school, "yes" to graduation, and "yes" to every fulfilling and progressive opportunity that came my way.

"No" is still in my vocabulary. I exercise this word often, but not when it comes to growing. "No" is for cheap pick up lines or dying my hair blue. "Yes" is for facing fear head on, taking risks, conquering every challenge, and getting to really know me.