This year has been one for the books. I can sit and think about it all, but, while writing this, I can't quite find the words to say. The past 12 months have been months of change and growth in ways I couldn't have thought possible. Of course, this year was big for everyone my age: we turned 18, graduated high school, and some of us went off of college. But, let me share with you some of the details of why I am toasting to 2018.

This year did not start out in my favor. For the first couple months I found myself surrounded by a toxic period of time in which I was stuck going through the motions of my life, but I didn't feel truly there. A blessing in disguise was thrown my way, however, when times changed and people left. I didn't see it at the time, but, as it often happens, when it seemed that things I cared about were falling apart, I was actually allowed space to change everything for the better.

Shortly after, Easter followed, and I turned 18. I've always thought that it was a fun fact that I was born on April Fool's Day. This year it was nice that a more considerably important day fell on Easter. A neater fun fact, I suppose.

The day after my birthday, I spent in Disney World's Animal Kingdom, and my 18-year-old butt put on a Simba tank top and wore my hair in pigtails. Between my outfit, the pigtails, and my brace-filled, ear-to-ear smile, I probably looked like a 12-year-old; but, I will tell you I was the happiest 12-year-old there. My favorite Disney movie has always been "The Lion King", and I got to see their Festival of the Lion King. I adored every minute of it.

I know peers that went to the beach and had a crazy spring break that you really only hear stories about, but I couldn't be happier spending mine with my family in Orlando because I got to reconnect with myself. For the first time in a long time I didn't care what I looked like or what people could be thinking of me, I was remembering how much I loved being childish.

At the end of April I went to my senior prom. I went dateless, with friends, in a dress that I felt amazing in. We all went to a steak dinner in town, danced at prom, and then spent time at your friendly neighborhood Waffle House. We ended the night with a midnight showing of "Infinity War." No one could tear us down or ruin that night.

May 29^th, we graduated. There isn't much else to say other than that. Four years of our life came to a conclusion in two hours and it was unbelievable, indescribable.

Over the summer, I worked two jobs. That was a lot of my summer, aside from a week I spent with my four closest friends at our senior trip in Myrtle Beach. We drove down, stayed in a house, cooked our own food when we weren't going out, went to the beach, and adventured around the city. A week well spent with all of us before we all went away to school. I think this week was my favorite in this entire year.

Then it came time to move into a school that I was never certain I wanted to go to. It was a hard transition for me, I'll admit that. I didn't really know what I wanted to do so I didn't understand why I was coming to WVU, yet, it isn't far from my hometown and they have some of the best programs in the country. But, I came, moved in, and, to my pleasant surprise, I found a place. I found old friends and new friends, I've gone on adventures, and I've found new inspiration on possible paths for my future. I found a new home.

In this past year I have struggled with letting go of people I thought would be in my life much longer. I have struggled with feeling like I was watching parts of my world fall apart. But, I am saying cheers for this year because for the first time in a very long time, this year is not ending with me wondering when something is going to change. This may have been a year of pain but it was also a year of growth. I am rid of toxic influences, I reconnected with parts of myself that I never realized had been lost, and I have grown into a happy, confident young adult.

Cheers to 2018! And, thank you for not being another year of involuntary motions.