This past year was filled with numerous ups and downs, failures and new opportunities, and through the bumps, came lessons learned. 2016 was a year of growth for me. I cut out negative friendships, experienced heartbreak, graduated high school, and went to college 1,300 miles away from my parents. Through all of this, I gained a new perspective and grew as a person.
1. People change
One of the hardest realities of life to come to terms with is the fact that people change. We simply grow apart from each other and that is okay.
2. It is okay to let go of old friends and make new ones
Going off to college typically means becoming distant with friends who you use to call and text every day, who also lived right up the street from you, but this allows you to meet new people and reinvent yourself in ways that you once never imagined.
3. Let go of toxic relationships
4. It is okay for your opinion to differ from others
One of our greatest freedoms is our freedom of speech, to say, to think, and to feel however we want. This freedom means that it is okay to stand out in the crowd and have a different opinion from those around you.
5. To have confidence in myself
I came to college feeling as though I was not cut out for it. In the beginning, I doubted myself and my abilities. I also doubted my appearance, but I quickly let go of these doubts and became proud of who I was and stopped doubting myself. I finally gained the self-confidence I so desperately needed.
6. Find a few good friends and stick with them
Many feel as though they need a large group of friends to be happy, but that is not the case. It is okay to have only a few great friends in which you can be yourself around as well as uplift you. Find friends who will push you in the direction of your dreams rather than drag you down #squad goals
7. It is not selfish to put yourself first
For years I found myself putting others needs and happiness above my own, but 2016 changed that for me. I began to put my own needs ahead of others and pushed myself further.8. Never put your life on hold for someone else
It can be easy to spend all of your time stressing over someone else, but doing so takes time away from focusing on yourself.
9. You cannot fix everything nor everyone
Not everything can be fixed, so we must learn to let go and move forward. Additionally, people cannot change unless they are willing to change, so trying to help someone who sees no problem with the way they are, just brings unnecessary negativity into one's life that should be let go.
10. People can leave your life just as fast as they entered it
Not everyone who comes into your life is meant to stay, but they are meant to teach you a lesson. If someone wants to leave, let them. Spend more time growing from experience rather than begging for them to stay in your life.
11. It is imperative to mend your own heart and move on
Rather than looking for someone to fix you. pick up the pieces of your own puzzle and put yourself back together to become whole again.
12. The friends you thought would always be by your side, do not always want to see you succeed
One of the hardest realities of 2016 was that friends you once thought would once be by your side on your wedding day, would rather see you fail than push you to succeed.
13. Be your own hero
Save yourself rather than looking for someone to save you.
14. Do not rush into anything
Learning to take things slow is one of the greatest lessons learned in 2016. Rushing into things can completely change your life in a way that you were not prepared for, whereas taking things slow gives one more time to process their own thoughts.
15. Being right is not always worth the argument
Many tend to want to be right in every situation, but sometimes it is simply not worth the fight. It is better to accept the fact that not everyone is going to agree on everything and move on.
16. Take risks
Taking risks and going outside one's comfort zone changes your life in so many ways. It gives you the opportunity to meet amazing people that otherwise would not be in your life had you not changed up your daily routine. It exposed you to situations and experiences that will bless your life.
This past year was not the best year for everyone, but in the end, so many amazing lessons were learned through the hardships. Lessons that can be seen as blessings in one's life because you simply changed the way you thought and grew tremendously from. Learning to drop negative people and things from your life and not questioning yourself for doing so benefits you and many ways and leads to sincere happiness in the long run.
