Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to have many good years, years that nothing dramatic has occurred or no grave changes have impacted my life. Yet this year, it finally came tumbling out. This year has, by far, been the hardest year of my 19 years and I am here to voice what it has taught me. From the separation of my parents to the death of my first dog, I have been through the wringer this year but I am determined to come out stronger than ever.
The first thing that this year has taught me is that it’s okay to not be okay and to ask for help. Sometimes when folks are going through tough times they bottle emotions up because they don’t want to burden people with their own issues. This leads to increased pressure on yourself that you may not be able to handle in the moment. When you’re going through a tough time, it is especially important to lean on your resources, your people and have them be there for you, because we all can’t be superheroes all the time.
Another thing this year has taught me is to live life to the fullest. This year my beloved dog died, he died without me being able to go home and say my goodbyes so it really forced me to self reflect on my life. I want to be able to have no regrets, I want to love hard, I want to care hard and I want to be happy. In order to do this through tough times, you have to put yourself out there and live your life to the max.
The last thing that this year has taught me is that sometimes things don’t work out and that’s okay. This has been one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned since my parents’ separation. The separation taught me that sometimes things don’t work, people aren’t meant for each other and that is okay because life moves on and people deserve to find happiness.
Even though my year has been quite tough and quite debilitating I have been able to find bliss, happiness and meaning throughout all of it. Just remember no matter what is going on, it will turn out how it is supposed to be in the end.