When the ball dropped in 2018, I remember turning to my best friend and saying "this is our year." We were in my childhood hometown in New Jersey with my family and the house I grew up in. Everything felt so right, I was so confident things were going to brighten up for my future within this year.

But they didn't.

What I learned was to be better, not for others but for myself. This year taught me that I have to be better, do better, and say better. That it is not always everyone else's fault, it's mine. That life didn't make me this way and that my circumstances didn't mold me into what I am - I did and it's okay! Everyone makes mistakes, there is no such thing as a definition of perfection! I realized so much about myself, my family, my significant other, my best friend, my entire life in 2018.

In 2019, I want to stop making excuses, and start making real commitments such as creating my brand for my YouTube channel. I want to quit mistaking complacency for contentment in my life - settling into comfort is not the way to achieve my personal happiness and what I want to actually do with my life. I want to start building bridges, not burning them one by one and pushing away people that only want the best for me. I want to bite my tongue more and listen because learning is so goddamn beautiful. I want to be loyal, to honor my values, and to make something larger than the 'right now.' I stopped growing and loving myself, and for that, I stagnated. I sold my artist integrity for things I never cared for, for the life I never cared for, for the art I never wanted to stand up for. I have to be better in this New Year, this is the next chapter for a REAL brighter future.

If you feel alone, you aren't. If you don't know what the next chapter holds, it's okay I don't either. Keep going for those best days that haven't even happened yet. I have found my real focus and direction after countless "bad years." It is not about how fast you get there, but how you direct yourself on a path for YOU and your future. Things will happen in the time that it is meant for you. Your future is bright in 2019. I promise you.

Some ways to live your best life for your brighter future:

1. Live every day on a fresh new start.
2. Be true to who YOU are.
3. Be proactive and stop waiting for others to do something. Take action yourself.
4. Rather than think "what if," think "next time," - don't think about the things you can't change because they are disempowering. Instead, focus on the things you can take action on.
5. Discover your life purpose and your inner self.
6. Love who you truly really are.