110lbs down 20 months

I wanted to share this to MFP forums since MFP has been a cornerstone in my success.
I had become more and more depressed my last 2 years of college. After graduation I had an incredibly difficult time the first year with my job search, things were looking grim and I fell into a deep depression. January 2014 came and like everyone else I was determined to make a change. I no longer wanted the depression, anxiety, and bad thoughts to have control over my life. This year was going to be different, I was going to make the change to positive thoughts and being the best version of myself I could be.

That was the start of my long journey and I had no idea how difficult it would be. Just a few months in my relationship of 5+ years had rapidly deteriorated into a negative aspect of my life. Over time people change, the person I wanted to be was just not compatible with the person my SO had become. It upsets me to this day. I didn't want to slide back into old habits so I kept up with my goals and tried to remain positive.

A few months later a mentor and neighbor of mine, the man who may have been the most responsible for me earning my degree passed from brain cancer. I decided to return to school and finish two Associate's Degrees. During this time a long time professor of mine encouraged me to apply to graduate school for Demography. I set up a meeting with the head of the Department and a professor of mine and felt we had a great meeting and I was excited to apply. They also connected me with a few students in the program that I could talk to and get an idea of how things would be. January of this year comes around and I had filled out approximately 100 applications and 1 grad school application. As it would turn out I would be rejected from grad school. But I didn't just give up. I emailed the faculty supervisor of the grad program and pleaded my case. Twice. No response. I stuck to my plan and focused on my goals and never missed a day of calorie counts and workouts.

Most recently the family dog, Tucker, passed away at only 6 years old from lymphoma. It was a very difficult time for me and my family but I stayed determined not to let myself slip back and lose all the progress I felt Ive made. I am still determined to improve my grad school resume and reapply for the Demography program as currently I am about to finish my third Associate's Degree in addition to my Bachelor's. I have also begun working with a career counselor and to date have filled out ~120 applications on USA jobs and ~2 dozen private companies. To fill my time I also love to read and read about 3 books a month, currently I am finishing my last two Malcolm Gladwell books. Currently I am working full time as an electrician and going to school, working with my professor on my grad resume, and my career counselor on my professional life. It has been difficult to keep from sliding back into the depressive person I once was. I have to remind myself to stay positive and think about how far I have come, and who I want to be.

my reddit post