Thank You 2018 For All Your Lessons

2018, you taught me so much.

You taught me to see my losses as stepping stone towards something greater. From you, I learn to see the limitless potential in the ending of a story. I begin to accept that they’re paving the way to the direction that I’m meant to go and understand that every mistake and failure is leading me to eventual success.

I used to associate ending with regret and fear of how things would never be the same. But now, I have come to see that on the heel of every goodbye, it’s the start of a new beginning that I need. That when something ends, there is no cause for alarm or fear that my life is taking a turn for the worse. Instead, I should focus on the abundance of new opportunities and blessing coming my way.

You taught me to take a leap of faith when my deepest insecurity almost forbid me to take that plunge. You allowed me to believe in that faint hope that whispered, ‘why not’ when I was racked in misery. You stretched my comfort zone by forcing me to confront my fear instead of running away. You tested my resilience, my persistence, and my determination to live truly and authentically and I was so glad that I rise above the challenges and be myself.

Through you, I learn that change may be painful but it’s often necessary. It’s better to pluck up my courage and grab my chance with the unknown but boundless possibilities than stay stuck to a story that had finished. It’s better to have faith that something beautiful is coming along than stay stuck to the past continuously. It’s better to go ahead and try then to live a life of regret and forever wondering what if.

You taught me to see the present as a gift that is bestow to me each day. You emphasized that the past is the past for a reason and I should always look forward. You let me understand that everything happens for a reason and it is the lessons of yesterday that build me to the strong and determined individual I am today.

2018, your lessons are hard but timely.

Beneath your hardness and the roller coaster emotional ride, you offer me hopes, optimism, and faith that I can overcome the overwhelming odds stack against me. You hadn’t been a breeze to get through. There were storms and persisting dark times that I thought I couldn’t survive. There were tears and heartbreak when all I want is to lament about my bad luck and wallow in my negativity. But there were also good times when my hard work was rewarded and my faith brought me to the end of the tunnel. There were sweet victories and triumph when I refused to succumb to fear and accomplish what I thought impossible by facing it bravely.

Throughout all your trail and tribulation, you allow me to find the strength I never knew I have. I learn that every experience is a valuable lesson that emboldens me to take another closer step towards my dream. I learn to trust in myself that I can do anything I set my heart to it. I learn to love the person that I am and slowly growing into.

Thank you 2018 for all the lessons and because of you, I’m a completely new person from whom I used to be a year ago.