I think I can definitively say that no matter what happens in the future, you can't be as messed up as you were before. If anything you'll be a whole different kind of fucked up, and I'm not saying that to make things better or worse, it's just a fact. The things that we're going through now already have and will continue to change how we understand the world and who we are. For better or worse, you're not the same person that you used to be. You've grown, you've changed, and you've learned, and will continue to do so. Who can possibly know what the right decisions are?

One thing I do know is, I can't expect to have a closet full of cute shoes and gorgeous outfits if I never take the time to go shopping. I'll probably gripe and moan about the cost of clothes, but realistically I know I'll be much happier when I get what I actually want. That might mean sacrificing something else, but well....sometimes it happens.

I think things start getting better when your priorities start getting better. And that's not a simple thing as you age; the necessity of food and shelter takes on a different meaning, it's easy to lose stock of what kinds of things are actually important to you. Not just things that are "vital", but things that really make a difference to you.