Dear 2015,
You've been tough on me. I've fallen apart and been put back together. I've loved, I've lost, I've made new friends and broken up with the old, the ones that dragged me down. I've worked hard, I've been lazy. I've become a Belieber and fallen in love with Adele all over again, and I've tried new things. I've been discriminated against, but I've also been called beautiful. Most importantly, I've struggled with my faith, only for it to become stronger than ever. I've laughed, cried, argued, begged forgiveness, accepted my mistakes, been told that I need to change, opened my mind, learned to manage my time a bit better, and, well, lived.
A year is a long time, but it's also not. 365 days means nothing if you don't shed your skin to make room for the new you. It's nothing if you don't take risks, make decisions, experience new adventures, and learn to see life in different colors. It's not just nothing; it's useless. And that's why, though this has arguably been the hardest year I've experienced so far, I can look back and say that I've grown. I have to thank you, 2015, for teaching me three very important lessons:
1. It's OK to Be Yourself
Not everyone's going to like you. Not everyone's going to see you the way you see you. You've shown me that in more ways than one. I don't have to act one way around one person and a totally different way around everyone else. It's okay to be myself and if they don't like it, they're not the people I should want in my life.
2. It's OK to Believe in Yourself
Sometimes, you're the only person who's going to have your six. No one else is going to watch your back, no one's going to believe that you'll achieve your dreams, and no one else is going to help you out. The most important thing to remember in those moments is who you are, what you want, and how you're going to get it. Eventually, everyone else will catch up to you.
3. It's OK to Love Yourself
There's no reason to pick at every scar, wound, piece of fat or flabby muscle on your body. It's okay to be happy with what you see in the mirror. Nobody around you should be your standard of beautiful or best personality or #lifegoals. If you're happy with where you are, be happy. If you're not, either work on it or learn to love yourself. Self-love is the most important love there is and it's okay not to be perfect.
So, thank you, 2015, for the tough love. Thank you for picking me up as well as throwing me down. Thank you for giving me 365 days of the life-schooling that I needed. And, as I go into another year, tell 2016 to go easy on me. I'm not done growing yet.
Love,
Me
