Happy 2019!!!!
I’m not really one for New Years resolutions, mostly because I’m so bad at keeping them. Instead I’ve been thinking of simple words and reminders that I can easily remember, build goals off of, and carry with me throughout the year.
2018 brought me some wonderful memories, and some some hard learned lesson. Some of my highest highs and lowest lows happened last year. I started to gain a new kind of confidence, I learned to trust the journey, no matter how nonlinear the path may be. But I also experienced heartbreak, loss, and so much uncertainty.
In essence, I experienced humanity.
2018 was strange because approximately half of it was spent in my old, college environment. Whether I was actually a student, working in my college town, or traveling for the school, I was in my beautiful bubble. The other approximate half of 2018 was spent entering and beginning to navigate the real world. Some of that was intimidating – moving, going job hunting, really thinking about my future. Some of it was also blissfully wonderful – going to my friend’s wedding, earning a position with a professional dance company, receiving positive feedback from mentors I highly respect.
In a strange way, the simplest transition has been the most unbelievable. My years are no longer delineated by an academic calendar.
I hope that 2019 brings a lot of wonderful experiences, people, and opportunities. And in order to try and facilitate that, I plan to bring resilience, love and patience, respect, and dedication with me into the new year.
Resilience because life is hard. Because the road ahead is bound to be full of obstacles and challenges that I don’t want to succumb to. If I get knocked down, which is very likely, I plan to get back up.
Love and patience for myself and those around me. I think 2018 lacked a lot of love and patience, and because of that there was a lot of pain for too many people. So I’m carrying love and patience into my daily life to remind myself that mistakes shouldn’t cause you to beat yourself up, and you never know what others around you might be struggling with.
Respect for myself, my goals, my aspirations, and those around me and who are along for the journey. Too many people I know, including myself, have very little respect for themselves, and therefore don’t award themselves the proper credit they deserve. For 2019 I hope to continue to earn the respect of others as well as myself.
Dedication to my aspirations and the inevitably long road that will help me find and achieve what I want. I have learned that nothing worthwhile comes without hard work. So 2019 will see a lot of hard work and dedication to the process of loving myself, respecting myself, taking care of myself, and following my dreams.
To 2018, you really weren’t too terrible but your learning curve was incredibly steep. I loved, I lost, I learned. To 2019, may you bring new lessons, new experiences, new opportunities, new connections, and a new perspective.
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Thank you to Synapse Photography and Immerse ATL for the image!
