No Longer a Grumpy Cat

It wasn't so long ago that I considered Grumpy Cat my spirit animal.  Every single time I would cross a meme online, or see a new Instagram picture, I would take pause, enjoy it, and possible even share it with my peeps because, dammit, it was always so relateable.

There are calendars, mugs, stuffed animals, pens... I have them all because Grumpy Cat and I were one and the same.  He (really a she but never how I picture it) always spoke what I was thinking inside and just didn't have the balls to say out loud. He (she) was my outside voice.

However, over the last year and a half, as I began making some big life changes (which I will share in future posts), I started to become a little annoyed by Grumpy Cat.  His (her) constant negativity just seemed to hit me differently but not in a way that I could easily explain.  It wasn't until this past Spring that I finally realized that it was because I no longer related to what Grumpy Cat was portraying.  The meme's weren't funny anymore because they no longer were what I was thinking or how I felt inside.... was it possible that by making some positive life changes, that you could actually change the way you see life?  Could you really flip the script and become a happier person (even though on the surface, no one would ever realize that you were ever NOT a happy person)?

As I look back on why Grumpy Cat was such an 'influential' character to me, I realize that all of the feelings that I associate with him (her) were negative ones.  The hate, the anger, the resentment that I had bottled up inside (even when I didn't realize it was there) was being spoken through this wee little cat but when those feelings started to leave... when I no longer hated who I was, felt anger at the person that I had become, resented the way I was living my life... Grumpy Cat was no longer relevant to me.

I took a look through my Instagram feed and at who I now follow and I can't find a single account that isn't centered on positivity... on fun... on making others happy.  Moreso, I don't follow anyone that doesn't bring me joy.  Not everything in life is roses but when you surround yourself with negative things, how do you expect to feel anything but that?  I have chosen (quite by accident) to live my life being happy and you know what?  It's awesome!

Now... I still need a cat meme to get me through because... CATS... but now, they are more funny because they are true and cats are jerks!  LOL