Diamonds are made under pressure

The Megan I knew in April 2020 was a completely different person than the Megan I now know. The Megan I knew was naive, fearful, and angry. I never knew how I would be tested spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Grief changed the way I thought, the way I loved, and the way I lived. The goals I had changed because only then was I able to recognize what was truly important in life. The way I mentally took care of myself changed. I wanted to take this time to recognize my takeaways from the last year.

1. I learned the power of prayer. I know there are a lot of people out there who aren’t spiritual, but I am and I am proud of it. It hasn’t always been an easy journey. Along the way, my spirit and faith were tested tremendously and there were times where I did lose hope and faith. There were times where I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hindsight wasn’t near, but prayer for forgiveness, mercy and grace from God is what I can say that saved me and my sanity.

2. I learned how to take time to care for myself and to give myself the love that I always give to others. I’ve become selfish with my time, effort, and love. I know that at the end of every day, I will always have my back. There have been friendships I encountered over the last year that has allowed me to reevaluate how much loyalty I have for someone even if theirs aren’t the same for me. Through this, I gained a new level of independence and determination. Never depend on anyone else for your happiness.

3. Finally, I learned how to take healthy risks. I used to be so afraid of not being able to accomplish all of my goals and dreams. I had a fear of failure and disappointing the ones that I love. I never wanted to feel ashamed of not always doing my best. I’ve learned that in order for me to truly take care of myself I need to allow myself to make mistakes and to be okay with failure. Failure only gives me the experience to better my decisions and choices.  Failure doesn’t make me who I am. It’s the wisdom that I gain with it that makes me who I am. With this, I learned that it’s absolutely okay to know my limits and to not spread myself too thin because, at the end of the day, I’m stressing myself out just for two seconds worth of applause. Totally not worth it!