This past year has been one of the hardest I have ever had to endure. My mother's death along with the loss of some other people in my life and the weight of my thesis hanging over my head contributed to a great deal of sadness, depression, and anxiety on my part. But recently, things in my life have come together in a wonderful and very settling way.

First, I have been completely zoloft free for over three weeks. This may not seem like very much of an accomplishment because, hey, it's just medicine. But zoloft as well as other psychotropic medications intended to ease depression, is notoriously difficult to ween off of. I went from 150 mg a day to 100 and then to 50 in a very short period of time during the spring semester. The withdrawal symptoms were very intense. I was left feeling tired and apathetic and spent almost an entire week or two in bed. I weened off of the rest very, very, very slowly. I went down to 25 mg a day after a few months, then every other day. I then went to 12.5 mg every other day and then every third day. Finally I went down to 6.25 every third day for a while and finally stopped taking it at all. I was a little anxious during the first week or so at that point. There is a marked difference in feeling without any of that drug in your system. But now I feel relaxed and happy.

I have also turned in a draft of my thesis to my advisor, something I really didn't think I was ever going to be able to do. A depressed state causes you to not want to do much of anything, especially anything that requires exerting mental energy. But overcoming this hurdle means that I am ever so close, pending revisions of course, to a final draft and a defense. And completing this is something that I am intellectually and emotionally prepared for. I am now literally weeks away from receiving my master"s degree. after the defense and submission, I will be awarded the degree at the close of the semester. I can then turn almost all of my academic attention toward my dissertation since I have completed all of my course requirements save one.

Also, two weeks ago I received a $15,000 check from my mother's life insurance policy. It was certainly a bitter reminder of the pain that I've been going through, but also certainly a blessing. I am now credit card debt free with thousands left over to invest in my IRA and other interest bearing accounts. All of my money in my checking, savings, and investment accounts is now making money. I haven't wanted to make any extraneous purchases except for a brand new MacBook, the new light of my life. So, for the first time in a long time, I feel not only financially secure for the moment, but for the very long term.

On top of this, my beautiful, brilliant, loving boyfriend is moving in during the next week. We will be making a nice home and little love nest together. Not only will my expenses go down roughly $600 a month, I will always have a lover and friend to come home to. Bonus: we also got a very nice free couch last week.

On the slight downside, my truck is giving me some problems. It has developed the tendency to not want to start when I want it to. But, luckily I suppose, I have enough money to either get it fixed or save for a new vehicle, maybe even one that has air conditioning! For my ten years of driving, I have never had a car that has had air conditioning.

Suffice it to say that I feel very content with my life right now, but not complacent, and I just wanted to share the good things that are happening right now with my friends.