2016 had been a really, really challenging year. Looking back and seeing all the things I’ve been through, I have to say 2016 have left me with quite a few bittersweet morals, memories and marks.

But if anything, I owe 2016 a thank you, because of all the things it left, it left me a you.

And you are one sweet blessing.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover the simplest yet vital things about you; like how you hate it when I force you to talk when you just want to listen, how you like almost every kind of food, how relaxed you are when you do your art. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover the secrets you keep, the things that makes you anxious, terrified and up at night. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover the amount of love you have invested in your family and the things you adore most about your mother. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that there is truth when they say there’s more to life than meets the eye.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover how fascinated you are every time you would tell me a random memory back in college, how you made up with your Dad one time after a fight, how when we’re eating you suddenly blurt out completely irrelevant yet significant stories. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that my interest and energy to listen is nothing compared to when I start talking and you just listen. I discover how mesmerizing your ability to just stare at me for hours and listen – and I’m not talking about the usual light and pleasing-to-hear stories, not the ‘life is good’ moments but the dark ones, the ‘life is falling apart’, ‘life is as shitty as it can be’ talks. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover your inability to get tired of hearing me out, what I’m thinking, my plans, my rants, my whims, my confusions.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover how much I love being with you, how my stomach magically turns into a home of mini butterflies that flutter in every side of it when I look at you, how every cell in my body dance insanely when you try to calmly hold my hand, how glimpses of joy overwhelm my heart every time you would kiss my forehead.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that beauty goes far, far deeper than the surface. That there are so many more galaxies inside you that I ought to unearth. I discover that there is this part of me that is willing to connect all the constellations inside your soul, memorize all the bones in your body and find out the strength they have in overcoming life.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that there is no point in trying to hold back, because your warmness makes me want to give all the love I can give despite of all my fears and all the ugly parts and all the possibilities that one day, maybe this won’t work like it does today, or one morning you’ll realize it was worth the try and goodbye. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that, no matter how this will end, I am beyond ecstatic that we are trying. I am beyond grateful that we are braving the waves, the uncertainties and just going out there in the unknown with nothing but our desire to make it work.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover how good you are for me. How kind you are and caring; how you always inspire me and motivate me to keep going, no matter how hard it looks; how you are present, loving me, supporting me and not trying to alter me.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that even though you play a significant role in my life, I know and I feel that above all, we are still whole, on our own. We just complement each other. That you are still your own person, I’m just the perfect mate. I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that you might only come once, so I’ll grab it.

I thank 2016 for the chance to discover that I am in love. And that I will not hesitate, I will not be scared, I am in love with you.

And I am in awe at how all this is possible; how all this is made true by one single human being. That made me believe that maybe, just maybe, there are really someone out there that will not even try their hardest to win our hearts but they’ll just do, they’ll win it and there’s nothing we can do.

But above all, I thank 2016 for allowing me the opportunity to become a part of your life. That by far, is the best blessing of 2016.