2019 was a year unlike any other for me. I have learned more about myself than I ever could have foreseen and have a more sophisticated outlook on what I want my life to be like going forward because of this. I have laughed, loved, cried, hurt, learned, stumbled, grown... the list goes on.

Toward the second half of 2019, I tried to look at every day as an opportunity to learn something new and to always accentuate the positives in life. Recently, I have learned just how difficult this can be during hard times, but if you look hard enough, there is always a reason to be grateful.

Something I struggle with the most is letting go of certain things, whether it be a place, person, or idea. When it comes to what I care about most in life, I am very dedicated. I invest a lot of myself in what I care about, so, during big change, I often feel uncomfortable or emotional.

One day, my mom was walking along a street and came across a quote in a store window; she took a picture and texted it to me. It said:

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." - Henry Ford

These words had a humongous impact on me. Even though I don't love jarring changes in life, I also constantly seek new experiences and like to change up my routine or conversation with others, for example. This quote made me realize that I can't strongly dislike jarring change and seek new adventure in life. Those are two opposites and my life will always seem imbalanced to me if I chase after both entities.

So, in order for me to embody my newfound favorite quote and to attempt to live and be happier, I had to change how I thought about some major aspects in life. I had to stop dwelling on changes and look at them as chance to have a new experience or adventure. If everything always stayed the same and everything always worked out for me, first of all, that would be so boring, but also, I would become frustrated as I would run tired from the monotony of that.

Change is hard and can be uncomfortable, there is no doubt about it. But, change is also a sign of being alive.