Courtesy:Â Camille of Passion Carnets
Dear 2018,
It’s been nearly one month since our introduction, but I just now feel confident in my ability to consistently spell your name right. While sitting in a morning class that requires students to copy notes by hand, I realized I drew a perfectly crafted eight when jotting down the date instead of slapping two circles over a scribbled out seven. This might seem insignificant, come across as a trivial detail in our developing story, but it is our first documented step of progress out of the many more that are to unfold.
2018, I have some expectations for you, if you would like to take on the challenge. Be better than 2017. Open my eyes to new experiences and provide this to not only myself, but to others as well.
Our first month together has been pleasant, a good blend of trials and tribulations. You have already presented me with various opportunities to pursue my education, to follow my passion for writing and to meet wonderful people. I hope that this trend extends past the novelty phase that accompanies a new start and that it becomes dispersed throughout the rest of the year.
I have my expectations for you, but I’m curious about what you’re expecting from me this year. Just how much are you going to push? How much are you going to make me smile, laugh, or cry? How much are you going to break me, so I can learn how to piece myself back together in a way that makes me stronger than before?
Last year was demanding. It was a time of change for my immediate world and the greater world around me. Adapting was not easy. In the spring I graduated high school, in the summer I said goodbye to friends and family, in the fall I started college, and in the winter, I found myself grateful for the opportunities I decided to follow through on. I currently have a better sense of what it means to be myself than I have known before. I feel settled, but not stagnant. There is too much in this world to see, to do, to experience, to always stay the same.
I have decided that you, 2018, will be a year of exploration. You will be the year of trying new things and collecting new experiences, not to change myself completely, but to better myself. I want to challenge myself to go beyond the boundaries of my comfort zone. I want to become more confident in making decisions. I want to make connections with new people. I want to take chances. I want to discover new interests.
2018, I’m not asking for you to be perfect. You can still have your days when you test me, present me with days where a situation doesn’t play out how I want it to or create moments that make me question what I think I know. I can’t control what will happen, but I’d like to think that I am ready to tackle the obstacles you have in store for me.
May the 365 days we spend together be memorable.