2017 was an interesting year for me. I feel like I have learned more about myself this year than in any other year. And I say that because I feel like I got real with myself this year. I spent a lot of time analyzing my emotions and looking into why I act the way I do. I started to work on myself and be better within the relationships I hold. I started to look at the friendships I have and began to appreciate the impact that they have on my life.

I realized this year that I don’t want to go into medicine, after all. I realized that standing up for what I want my life to look like is more important than just going through the motions. I realized that money is an important aspect of our world and that the way it consumes people’s identity and self-worth is something I never want to happen to me. I began to understand that my desire to be married and have children one day stems from my parent’s inability to relate to their children on an emotional level.

I started to realize that I am often a better friend than I am a girlfriend. I discovered that a lot of my issues within my own relationship comes from the fact that my parents had a less than ideal marriage. I have started to piece together that long distance relationships are not cut out for the less committed. I have solidified the notion that dance will always be my passion.

I could go on and on because what I have learned this year stems from almost all the different facets of my life from education to relationships to mental health to family to insecurities, etc. Someone once told me that a smart person knows what to say, but a wise person knows when to say it. This quote, to me, means it’s not about going on and on about what I have taken from this year, but instead knowing when to use the different lessons from 2017 in my life moving forward.

There are so many things I want to do and experience in 2018 and I know that 2018 will be nothing short of eventful. With that being said, I write this article as a way to remind myself that I am still a work in progress and as much as I have taken away from this year, I still have so much more to learn and to grow from next year. Thank you, 2017, for all you have given me, this year is definitely one I will remember with great fondness. Hello, 2018!