at sixteen i told myself by my mid-twenties i wanted to have a career and be married with two children. now, at twenty five, i'm just praying my card isn't declined at target.

Safety Nets are Meant for Falls Not Leaps

Every year I decide to watch the entire series of Ugly Betty. Around the middle of summer, for the past five years, I become a brace-faced Latina with big dreams. I mean, that's basically accurate. With this great high comes a great low - the series finale. I am always depressed when I come to the end, but I also feel this sense of inspiration. Also, when I notice I'm nearing to the finale, I watch movies to stretch out my time in Manhattan. This year before the final four episodes, I watched Brooklyn and found direct correlations to my favorite kween from Queens

I won't go into details, but the title character, Eilis Lacey, faces a decision between two different lives. One where everything has been handed to her, and the other she has been working towards a goal but finds happiness on the journey. By the finale of Ugly Betty our heroine is offered an editorial position with Mode Magazine, and a promising future with an old flame. Betty decides to decline all of this for a brand new magazine in London which she would be editor-in-chief. Both women in Brooklyn and Ugly Betty decide to take the road they haven't traveled. 

The theme of safety nets comes up near the end of Ugly Betty . It makes sense because a net is meant to catch. Yes, I'm sure you know that you won't fly unless you try. Or you won't get to 'Plan A' if you are always focused on 'Plan B'. The reason why Ugly Betty always resonates with me is because she is aware of her safety net, she just chooses not to jump into it. 

Too often we view life as a tight-rope or a cliff that we are meant to jump off of and spread wings. The truth is we are all walking on a steady, sometimes bumpy, path that has detours, caution signs, expressways, safety nets, and uphill climbs. 

We get to choose what path we want to take. 

Yes. It's cliche but it is absolutely true. Betty could've become a fashion editor, gotten back together with Henry, and lived the life she always dreamed of. Instead, she travelled, literally, across the world to build something out of nothing. Eilis could have stayed in Ireland, gotten together with Jim, took a job at the accounting office, and moved into the biggest house on the block. Instead, she too travelled across the world to Brooklyn where she had Tony, a department store job, and she lived in a boarding house.  It's funny how when ordinary people take leaps of faith but miss they fail. Sometimes, in the case of Betty and Eilis, it isn't one simple leap but a series of small jumps to get to the other side. However, how many athletes did we watch in this year's past Olympics, (that didn't get gold), but we said to ourselves: "Wow, at least they can always say they're an Olympian."

Sure, being an Olympian is an OUTRAGEOUSLY amazing thing that only a select few people can share. Yes. If you think about it though, Olympians train all their lives, miss important events, and dedicate all their time to their passion. That sounds familiar right? Sure, your passion may be accounting, or marketing, singing, painting, cleaning, and the list goes on. You still have to take some risks. 

This is what I've learned from Ugly Betty and Brooklyn. Sure I'm not hopping on a flight across the world tomorrow to change my entire life.

But I do have my passport ready.

Me-Lancholy

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