Coming into the new year has got me reflecting on this past year. A lot of things happened, some good, and a lot of bad. I do not think I have had as many curve balls thrown at me, in such a brief period of time, than when I was a kid and my parents got divorced, and that is just the honest truth. I have had a lot on my mind these past several months but particularly the past several weeks, during the holiday season. I did not think that I could fully move on until I got some closure, so here it goes...

Dear 2016,

When we first met things were all looking up. In fact our first day together was one filled with laughter and joy. New Years Eve 2015 and New Years Day 2016 were fantastic. I spent that time with three very close friends, along with family. My friends attacked me with silly string, we watched Chicago together, ate tons of yummy food, and of course reminisced on the previous year. I was leaving a bad semester behind me and starting a fresh one. I was just kicking off my YouTube channel, and soon after the New Year I actually started writing for The Odyssey. Everything seemed like it was looking up.

Now as I sit here and think about how the rest of the year panned out all I have to say is wow. I had my typical boy troubles, which resulted from my typical stupid choices. I had yet another seizure and lost my license yet again. I had to face multiple difficult life altering decisions. I endured heart break and the loss of several loved ones. By nearly the end of the year I had lost any and all self esteem. The hardest part in it all was not the health issues, the struggling GPA, the funerals, the financial struggle every college kid deals with, or even the constant feeling of not being good enough. No. None of that was the worst... The worst and hardest part of the entire year of 2016 was deciding to be independent, to cut people out and welcome new ones in, to take risks, to work hard for what I want, and realize that in the grand scheme of things you can't count on anyone more than yourself.

On the other hand, some very significantly positive things happened this year as well. Just to name a few in chronological order: I joined the sorority that i love where I can be uplifted in Christ's Word. I was honored with being one of the color guard captains, which I worked so hard for and had yearned for so long. I made several new friends. I truly learned the value of time management. For the first time I started dealing with the root of my problems, the things I had been bottling up for over a decade, and then some. I applied for a job. I switched rooms. I changed my major to something I could actually see myself doing and love doing it. Most of all, the best part of 2016 was getting the experience to step into a world I literally never thought I would be in. I found someone I love and cherish. I found someone who makes me want to become a better person each and every day. I found someone who is worth fighting for and who I can actually see a future with. A lot of the positive things that happened to me this year, a lot of the real life things that happened this year, more than likely would not have happened without him behind me pushing me forward. All of those things were fantastic, but they were not the best part. The best and most fulfilling part of the entire year of 2016 was deciding to be independent, to cut people out and welcome new ones in, to take risks, to work hard for what I want, and realize that in the grand scheme of things you can't count on anyone more than yourself.

So i close with this, every day is different and new. A year may just be a number, but really it is something much different than that to most of us, it is a clean slate. As High School Musical's Try and Gabriella once said, "It is the start of something new". Though truly there is only a days difference you also are starting a new calendar year, starting back up at the top. You will endure a lot of challenges, the older you get the more intense they will get. You will have to learn how to spread your wings, realize that no one gets you like yourself does, and make some very adult decisions. Sometimes it is better to cut someone out of your life and face some pain for awhile, rather than letting something poisonous take over your life. Though the trials may seem like that's all there is, there really is so much more than that. If you can pull yourself up and bring yourself through a bad situation then that will give you the strength to keep on moving forward. Those bad situations will make you appreciate the good ones so much more.

Friends, never stop moving forward. Like I said in a previous article, sometimes getting the bad stuff out of your life is like popping a zit, you have to get all the gunk out to get better. Stop giving up and start getting up.

Here is to 2017. A year that will be filled with loads of positivity and at times will quite frankly just suck. I hope your year is very rememorable to say the least.