I Hate to Sound Cliche, But...

When it rains it pours! Have you ever had periods where life just won't let you catch your breath? I know, of course you have. So I know you'll understand when I tell you that this is one of those periods of time for me and my loved ones.
We just suffered an unexpected death in our family a week ago today, so we're still reeling from the shock. Needless to say we've been off work for a few days. When my husband comes home from his first day back, he announces that he has to go to Germany on business next week. We knew he had to go soon, but not this soon. This is not a good time for us to be separated (foot stomp).
On my first day back my co-worker gets sick (sigh), more for her than myself. This is where I have to remind myself to breath. As my dear late uncle used to say,
"This too shall pass."

Is it okay to be me?

In a country where there seems to be (okay, is) so much opportunity for self actualization, there are an awful lot of unhappy people. We have schools for everything under the sun, more disposable income per capita than many other nations, spas, amusement parks, golf courses and malls a-plenty, yet we're never happy.
We're never "us" either. I mean we don't know who "we" are. I don't know about you, but it seems like we spend a great deal of time listening to external voices giving well-intentioned "suggestions" about what we should have done, or should do with our lives.
In high school my loving mother said I should take secretarial classes so I would always have something to "fall back on." Only thing was I couldn't type worth a damn, still can't. It's taken me 30 minutes to type these three paragraphs! Some said I should join the military, but since I majored in art, I don't think the U.S. government would've had much use for my particular skill set.
I have always loved to write. Everyone knows that non-tangible abilities are just for hobbies though. But what does one do if that's how she's "built?" I have spent many years trying all kinds of jobs and professions, and you know what? I've got that humanities, linguistic, creative kind of brain and that's that. Whenever I try to do something else I'm just never as good as somebody who's good at it is.
So to answer my own question, finally, yes. It's okay to be me. I hope you know that it's okay for you to be you as well.