Complacent

Complacency- a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements. 

   Complacency is one of the most dangerous things in society. I call it "The Silent Killer". Sure, love can break your heart. Trusting can end up hurting you; but, being complacent, in the long run, only has negative effects. One tends to overlook these because they are scared of failure or being hurt. With complacency you stay in one spot, while others fall down. But while you're sitting there sipping your lemonade and eating Pringles, others zoom right by you. They fall and get back up. Why am I talking about this? I was very complacent in life for about three years. I had some set backs and I just took them. I ended up not caring. I saw people falling flat on their face and I didn't want to do that again. I saw people succeeding around me and I thought "Good for them. I'll sit right here and keep doing what I'm doing" These three years, life was sucked out of me. It was like someone took a straw and inhaled all my joy. I was living for routine. I went to school and work and that was it. I put myself on autopilot. There were no thoughts of harming myself or anyone around me. I just didn't care about anything.  When I would make a good grade on a test or have a good day at work, it didn't matter to me. Same with the opposite. 

   My mom's friend Lora, who died shortly after, encouraged me to apply for Disney College Program. I had tried before and failed and was content with the answer that they didn't want me. (Other people encouraged me to apply again as well. You know who you are.) I'm pretty sure she could tell I was complacent with my life. She said "you need an adventure". 2014 and 2015 life changed a lot. I went from slowly coming out of a complacent life, to working for Disney, to teaching all within about a year and a half! This was definitely an adventure. Now with all the shake ups, I fear standing still again.

    I just finished watching the movie "The Giver" again. It's a reminder to never become complacent again. The movie (also a book, read it) is set in a town where the government has done away with emotions of all kind. They do away with love, so you can not get hurt. They do away with anything that might hurt your feelings. They made a world that was complacent. There is no singing, no dancing, no laughing, no crying. Just people who live for a routine. It doesn't sound too bad, in some ways but it's terrible in other ways. Imagine a world with no sadness? Great. Imagine a world with no laughter? Not so great. Like all scenarios, you must take the good with the bad. Every time it watch this movie I think, I can't go back to that place in my life. 2014 and 2015 were probably the best years of my life! 2016 so far is also great; however, I fear slipping into my old ways. The thought of living life on auto pilot again is a scary thing. I know now what it is to really live and I don't want to change that ever again! 
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