As we enter midnight on January 1st of this coming year, we'd not only be in a new year but a new decade. And I can definitely say that the past few years of the decade have grown me more than I would ever expect.

2019 in particular has been a year of rapid growth and change. The things I do for myself and realize now, I could not have even dreamt of thinking of doing for myself when the year began. For one, I really learned the value of self-care. I started carving out time in the day just for me- to do what I wanted. Whether that was painting my nails before bed, or writing in my journal or even just making my favorite meal and savoring every last bite- I did more for myself this year than I remember doing in the past 9 years. I learned that value of the phrase "to love others, you must first love yourself." Even though I'm still working on complete, unconditional self-love, I can honestly say that I treat myself the way I should've been doing, finally.

With that came to learn how to value time alone. I used to always need to be surrounded by people. Whether its hanging out, or talking on the phone or just being in a crowded area, the presence of someone else meant validation that I wasn't going to be alone forever or that I had people who cared about me. I never wanted to be by myself because that meant I would have to listen to my thoughts, and have myself as company, and get to know myself. After giving up an addiction I had 5 years ago, it was hard to find my identity without it. But in time, and especially this year,I had a lot of quiet moments in which I'd appreciate the silence. I learned that no matter how often you're surrounded by others, you are always with one person at the end of the day- yourself. So I learned to hear myself in these moments, instead of ignoring the silence, trying to fill it with meaningless noise; Less is more.

What has helped me the most was finding my faith. I became Christian about 5 years ago as well, and its had its ups and downs as most spiritual journeys do. But this year I became closer to my faith than ever before, and it could be due the some of the hardship I faced over the years or just by pure maturity. Either way, for myself, having a strong belief in God has helped me overcome some major struggles in my life and I am grateful for every new day for a new lesson and a new way for God to reveal himself in my life. It has also made me stronger in my convictions- politically, morally and otherwise. Everyone's spiritual journey is different and this year I have found so many ways to listen to God to make it my own.

Overall, I hope for others that this year, the end of the decade has taught lessons to learn from to help make the start of the 2020s even more glorious. And even if you feel like you've ended the decade not as well as you started it, that's why new year's exists and is meaningful for a lot of folks- it's the chance to reset the clock and start again- this time a whole 10 years fresh.