SWEET & LOW

Today as I rolled out of bed I decided a few things about me, my life, and what I want/need to get accomplished.
Here are those things:

1. I need to focus a whole hell of a lot more on myself and a whole hell of a lot less on guys. I really think women in general need to do this. We walk around talking about all the things guys do wrong or the kind of guy we want walking into our lives, but have we really stopped to examine the kind of girl we are? I have done so much growing up in the past few months that I'm an altogether different version of myself than I was last year, but I am more than aware that I still have plenty of growing up to do. I want the next big step towards a relationship I take to be with someone that is the best possible version of himself beside the best possible version of myself. Why do we hold such high expectations against others when we don't even hold those same expectations to ourselves? 
2. Sooner or later everyone's true colors are shown, no matter how nice of a guy he may seem to be. Never stay over at a guy's house. Just don't. That's not me telling you what to do; that's me telling myself what to do. Never put yourself in that position again. You're way too nice of a girl Taylor to leave his house, even at 4 a.m. when he's prattling on about his views on hooking up and sex, because you constantly worry about hurting peoples' feelings even when they're unworthy of you caring. You are worthy of more than that - you deserve someone that respects you and won't test his boundaries. Someone that won't even think about inviting you to stay over, especially when you're not even a couple and you still don't know each other. Plus, having to listen to someone snore in your ear pisses you off beyond belief and you wake up crankier than usual.
3. That boy that begged you to stay, you're eternal "what-if", never leaves your mind for a single day until you do something about it. If that means blocking him from all your social media, deleting his number out of your phone, then DO it. Stop crying about him on your way home after long days that are emotionally taxing. He's not even worth it. Damn-it get it together!
4. I want to start making goals for me that have substance and result in growth. My first of many goals is to start learning more dishes to cook. Something I've always wanted to do is host dinner parties when I got my own place, and I'm deciding it's high-time to learn more than just fried chicken and pasta roni. I also want to start making our living space more cozy and home-like. I'm determined to make our place look like it walked out of Anthropologie's catalog. This is only the beginning, but I know I'm going to have a lot of exciting little adventures planned ahead for me and I can't wait.
5. Sometimes you just have to put your big-girl panties on and make it alone. My family and I are currently at wit's ends with one another - they want me to come back home and I want them to stop asking me to. I haven't talked to my Mom in weeks and that's really hard, especially with how close we are, and today when I called to wish my brother a happy birthday and she made up an excuse to not talk to me on the phone really hurt. But I'm beginning to realize that this is a test I have to pass and I'm trying to stay focused on all the positive and realize that, like I always say, every little thing is gonna be alright.