Dear me,
2016 sucked. Aside from the horrible things that happened throughout the world– lives taken too soon, legends lost, brutal attacks, an election that pitted people against each other, and so much more– the number of personal hits is too high to count.
But the thing is, you're still up and kicking. Regardless of what was lost, you kept going. You've been kicked one too many times the past few years. It's time to give up on that whole "I'm going to lay down and let life kick me for a bit". Yeah, you have the worst luck: when one bad thing happens at least 10 more follow. I mean honestly one of those bad luck streaks ended with a trip to the emergency room and later a heart procedure.
You learned a lot from those losses. The best lesson? You don't need a prince to be a princess. Your total obsession with being a Disney princess doesn't have to rely on whether you're in a relationship or not. Speaking of relationships, while you may have lost one of the most incredible, eye-opening, life-changing relationships this year, you found yourself. What would college be like if you hadn't left the constant FaceTime calls to sit in the lounge with the girls at the end of the hall? You would've missed out on watching the World Series where you did, missed out on late night movies, sleepovers at your friend's apartment, and every single laugh over the stupidest things (not to mention hide and seek in one of the academic buildings).
You lost the best friend you always wanted and needed. And that's okay. You probably won't have anything like that again, but that's okay too. She taught you so much, and now you use that going forward. You've made plenty more friends, and they have built you up even more.
It's time to go forward and stop looking back. You turned 19. This is the last year of being a teenager. Enjoy it. But don't regress back to where you were before. In 2015 you needed strength to become the amazing 2016 you that came to be, and even more, 2017 will bring more challenges, successes, and experiences.
I know you're up to the challenge.
2016 knocked you down more times than anyone would want to admit.
But you got back up. Every. Single. Time.
I'm proud of you for that. (And it's an amazing feeling to finally be proud of what you've done for yourself.)
Take this next year in stride and live every moment with graciousness and excitement.
Here's to
Love,
Me
