It's been a wonderful year.
You brought me change.
From graduation to switching jobs in just a few months, from living alone to adopting a furry little roommate, so many things have changed this year that it's hard for me to wrap my head around sometimes. That being said, though some of the changes may have been painful and uncomfortable in the moment, I can confidently look back at them all and see that they were for the best.
You brought me adventure.
I may not have traveled nearly as much as I did in 2014, but the travel memories I made this year seemed richer and more substantial than those I've made in years past. I went to Mardi Gras with some of my most favorite people and spent five days filled with laughter, beads, and incredible floats. I went to Peru for a week and saw awe-inspiring sights and experienced life-changing and humbling memories. I went back to NYC and DC where I was humbled enough to spend 9/11 at the official memorial and lucky enough to meet up with old friends that I hadn't seen in over five years.
You brought me doubt.
From the stress of securing a job upon graduation to finding an apartment in Dallas to switching jobs in the last quarter of the year, 2015 was definitely a year of uncertainty and doubt. But it reaffirmed my mantra of float on. There are only so many things that we can control in this world. The rest will just happen, and all will be okay. 2015 was more than just "okay," despite my harried moments of misgiving.
You taught me responsibility.
Ah yes, the first real taste of the "adult world" and being completely self-sufficient and figuring things out on my own. From the little victories of figuring out how to hook up my own Internet connection in my apartment to the slightly-bigger victories of managing to move from one city to another with an SUV and a borrowed pick-up truck to the major successes of landing a much-improved (by leaps and bounds) job within a single week, responsibility hit the ground running hard. And you know what? I think I might actually be getting the hang of this "adulthood" thing a little.
You taught me (even more about) love.
I wrote it last year, but I'll write it again this year: love is patient, love is kind; love is a cliche until you really know what it means. Love is a happy pup jumping up to greet you when you get home... Even if you've only been gone an hour or two. Love is a long trek to IKEA for a couch... Only to break down two minutes from my apartment. Love is the comfort of seeing your parents' house after a long drive and seeing excited smiling faces coming to welcome you home. Love is making an hour-long drive to sit around and do nothing with a friend in need.
You taught me faith.
I don't purport to be religious at all, but I have my own beliefs. I believe in karma. I believe in the power of positive thinking. I believe in love, and I believe in humanity. I've said it before and I'll say it again - there are only so many things in this world that we can control. Everything else takes a little bit of faith.
You taught me the value of never giving up.
It's easy to feel like hard work just quite isn't paying off, and that's because it takes time. Like a careful investment into a piece of property, a stock, or a business, life takes time to show some sort of result. So just because the hard work you're putting forth now isn't quite coming to fruition doesn't mean it won't a few months down the line. This was the year of my hard work finally coming to fruition, and it feels great.
You taught me humility.
It's stupidly easy to get wrapped up in me, me, me nowadays. With the widespread use of social media and social sharing, we're constantly getting bombarded by manipulated images of what our lives should look like, based on what our friends are doing. "Well she has that, and I don't; woe is me!" Going to Peru and being able to be unplugged for long stretches of time gave me a great reminder of the simple things in life, and just how lucky I am to have so many things that I often take for granted.
2015, you were a hell of a year. 2016's got a lot to live up to, but it's already started on a pretty killer note. Let's keep it coming.
xx
ola
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