There are periods of time where people do a lot of growing because of the different things they experience. For me, 2015 was that period. This past year, I made quite the 180 of a transformation. After lots of different happenings and lots of introspection, I’ve changed a bit, and perhaps for the better. There are some things that happened this past year that I simply can’t “unexperience.”
In 2015, I experienced heartbreak, or something along those lines... I learned that making myself vulnerable is, in fact, quite risky and can result in a lot of pain. Perhaps what I went through made me a bit bitter, but from that bitterness, I took away a number of lessons (I’ll save those lessons for another article, because trust me…. There are A LOT). One of those lessons is that some people are meant to stay in the past. There’s no need to keep something that’s past its expiration date, which is why you, sir, will remain in 2015, where you’re meant to stay.
Heartbreak comes in many forms. While I experienced it in a romantic sense, I also experienced it platonically. I lost several friends in 2015, friends I thought would always be by my side. I learned that, unfortunately, people are temporary. People can come and go as they please. Just because I’m in it for the long run, doesn’t mean someone else will be, and I suppose, to an extent, that’s okay, because no one ever signed a contract. Life happens.
While 2015 was definitely the year for losing the ones I loved, it was also the year of forging new friendships. I graduated high school and shortly after, started college. I’ve become friends with people from all over the country, who have backgrounds much similar and much different than mine. If there’s one thing that college has taught me, it’s to not judge a book by its cover. There are some people I wouldn’t have seen myself liking in a million years, but as it turns out, our differences call for a dynamic relationship. So here’s a thank you, a thank you to the people I’ve met and friends I’ve made in a matter of four short months.
Along with college came independence. I suppose you could say that as an only child, I was a bit sheltered and reserved throughout high school. I don’t want to get into the dirty details, but as I’m sure you can picture, you see a lot in college. The world is not the happy-go-lucky I always imagined it to be. In college, you see things, perhaps do some things, and grow from those “things.” I’ll leave “things” up to your interpretation since the word is vague and can mean quite a lot.
Life takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and while you may be prepared for the worst, you’re never truly prepared, no matter foreseeable or unforeseeable things may be. So, 2015, thank you for all of the trials and tribulations. Thank you for giving me a taste of reality, and thank you for allowing me to grow because of it. Here’s to the wild past, and to the unpredictable future.
