I hope you take a look around at the people who have held you together for another year. Let’s face it, even the most independent spirit needs a shoulder to lean on, and in the routine of day to day it’s easy to forget that you’ve had people cheering you on and holding onto you on the days and nights where you couldn’t even think of taking another step forward. Yet here you are, and so are they, and you are the luckiest person in the universe to be able to say that.

I hope you silently thank the people who walked out of your life this year. For one reason or another, not everyone stays- not just romantically, but in friendships too. Not every person you expect to stand by your side ends up coming through. Some people weren’t intended to be in your story for the rest of your years, but temporary characters woven throughout your stories- to teach you lessons and make you a better person. And if they left your life, I hope you don’t beat yourself up and carry it with you- but be grateful for the times you had together, and wish them well.

I hope you open your arms to new people. That you don’t only decide that the faces you’ve come to know and the voices you’re so used to hearing are the only ones that will ever matter. That you don’t pass up the chance to say hi to that stranger who’s reading the book you love, or to that person who you suspect you would get along with, but you’re too afraid to make the first move. Make moves. Close the gaps between you and the people in this world. Remember that for every person in your life that you love so dearly, they were once a stranger too, and now you can’t imagine life without them- so why not give others that chance too?

I hope you open your heart, too. Maybe you have someone who will be kissing you at midnight and holding your hand into this new year, and for that, be grateful. Yet over time we tend to stop exploring and believing there is anything left to discover in a person- we stop caring as much because we think we know everything. Take a look at this person, and look at their face- are they the same person you knew at the beginning? Discover them again, and again, and again. If you don’t have your forever person, or any person at all, then I hope you open your heart as wide as you know how. That you don’t allow past hurts and loves gone wrong to cause you to never try again. I hope you do the opposite- I hope you love without hesitation, without worrying they will break your heart- because let me tell you, everyone’s going to break your heart a little. If you never open your heart, you will never find the love you deserve- so do it.

I hope you take chances- little ones, big ones, everything in between. Whether it’s a simple change from your usual style that you’ve been too nervous to try, or it’s an opportunity that changes your entire life- I hope you take it. I hope you don’t allow past voices and the self-deprecating words in your head tell you that you’re not worth it; that you don’t let them keep you from going for dreams and chances you never thought possible. That you don’t stay within the confines of comfort that you’ve used as an excuse to play it safe. That you see more than that in yourself, and that you do something about it.

I hope in 2017, you surprise yourself with just how incredible you are.