2023.
“Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, you were bigger than the whole sky. You were more than just a short time” - Taylor Swift
If there is one word I would use to describe 2023, it would be growth. There have been lot of challenges this year. But instead of letting those things demoralize me and bring me down, I made the decision to keep going. To become better because it. To think of all the times I started over, all the times I cried out, all the times I reached out for support, and all the times I handled things all on my own, proud is an understatement.
I would argue that the circumstances that were presented to me this year made me better and taught me a lot in the process. Even if I had to change 50 times in the process. I am trying, I am evolving. As they say, “You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.”
Here are some of the key moments that I learned some hard lessons:
At the start of 2023, I learned an important lesson. I was taught patience rather quickly. It would have been nice to go out for New Year’s 2022, but I was sick.
This year I make a decision to turn my negative emotion of grief into a positive. I reached out to all my friends to see what advice they would give to somebody who lost someone. And this was the result: https://www.inspirethose.com/blog/tf01cb736bwxwnir18tbwkyriolx5h
Although the time was 2022 when I experienced my place flooding from my sink clogging up and overflowing, I had a similar incident this past year. Except this time, it was something much more manageable. Turns out, the “flooding” aka water coming from under my sink was actually water from my shower. The curtain was not containing the water. Instead, it was draining some of the water directly behind my sink. I am grateful I figured it out before it became a bigger issue.
As I mentioned that in my previous residence, I dealt with a flood of sorts. Besides that, there were some other not-so-great experiences as well. The most frustrating was that the garbage truck would come at 5am or 6am on Saturday and Sunday. And although this was not a pleasant experience as a light sleeper, it taught me to go to bed earlier and become more of a morning person on the weekend. This in turn, contributed to me getting more done on the weekends.
A lot has happened this year, and although I will not go into detail about each situation, I learned how to utilize resources around me. A good example of this would be how one of my friend’s and I have an “Open text policy”. So, if we are feeling down, stressed, hurt, sad, etc, we can text in our chat. And we know the other will respond and will help provide support and encouragement. Other resources I have used include writing, working out, meditating, and self-care.
This year one of my family members was diagnosed with cancer. It was truly an overwhelmingly, stressful experience. And although at times it put a strain on relationships, it was also a testament that showed the true strength and resilience of our family. Beyond that, it made me more compassionate and it reminded me to appreciate the little joys of life.
For the second straight year in a row, I took a road trip by myself. This time, however, I drove at night to a place I was unfamiliar with. It was definitely an intimidating and scary experience but in the end, it was well worth the trip!
More than usual this year, I noticed that my parents and puppy are not getting any younger. Perhaps, it was the cancer diagnosis in the family, but I have learned to cherish the time I get to spend with them.
Outgrowing friendships/relationships. Although it is difficult and painful to lose someone you once cared about, it is a great learning experience. It has taught me about the quality of great friendships as well as the importance of boundaries.
Mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. This year all three compounded at once. It was exhausting. Now I feel like I can do anything as the downs made the ups so much better.
Taking care of me. Learning to eat healthier, getting back to working out consistently, and getting a proper night’s sleep. But most of all, healing. As my friend Tiffani said, “One thing people don’t let you fully know is healing is not linear. It’s tough. You start to feel like you’ve beat it and it humbles you with a heavy day that lasts a week. It doesn’t get “easier” as people say. But it does get LIGHTER. Occupy yourself, be around those who genuinely make you happy inside and out, find out what you like, find out more about yourself. Being resilient isn’t fun nor easy, but it is definitely a great quality to build”.
And finally here are some amazing moments that occurred:
My relationships grew to a new level.
Watching my nieces and nephews grow up and follow their dreams. It is inspiring.
Finding a place where I could sit, watching as time goes by, and realizing how beautiful life truly is.
The importance of being grounded from familial relationships, strong friendships, to spiritual well-being and faith.
Confidence in who I am
Being independent and learning to do things by myself
Learning the art of letting go
Becoming more private with my life
Having no regrets
Finding joy
Over the course of the last 12 months, I have been healing, reflecting, and living. It’s crazy to think how much I have changed over the past year. Growth is not something that happens overnight but it happens over a period of time. It happens each day from the choices we make when we take time to reflect. So, next time choose to be better, to do better, but most importantly, choose to be you. To grow, to love, and to live.
As a signature of this blog, I like to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. After all, there is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Passing on kindness, does need to be this big, elaborate ordeal. You could smile at a stranger, compliment something you love about someone’s outfit or personality, tell someone how proud you are of them or that you thinking of them. Even small acts can have a huge impact on someone.
