I Hope You Learn to Embrace The Pain You Feel in 2019

The holidays are over. The craziness has come to an end and you are probably thinking about what comes next. There’s so much anticipation leading up to Christmas and now that it’s over there’s a lot of questions that I need to answer for myself.

For me, this time of year is a time of reflection. After fielding endless questions from family about what I want to do with my life (when I figure it out you’ll be the first to know Susan) I tend to start thinking a lot about what direction I want the next year to go in.

I’m about to graduate and like thousands of others who are in the same boat come spring, that comes a lot of uncertainty. What do I want to do? Where do I want to be in the next 5 years? There is so much possibility and with that comes a lot of anxiety. Am I going to make the right choices?

2018 was a rough year for a lot of people and while I’m thrilled it’s about to come to an end, I can’t let the fear stop me from achieving everything I want this year – and neither should you.

I recently turned 24 and with that, I felt a little sad that I’m not where I thought I would be by this age. But we are all exactly where we need to be. Every single thing that has happened to you this year has led you to exactly where you need to be. I hope you recognize the beauty of this life and how much you have learned this year. Some of the worst pain I have felt in the past year and a half has become some of the things I’m the most grateful for in the long run. If you are ending 2018, having grown as a person and ready for the challenges this next year will bring then you are winning.

There is a lot of pain associated with growing and becoming a better person. The path to where you need to end up will not be smooth but it will be so worth it. The struggle that you have faced up to this point has given you all the tools you need. You will end up in a better place than you ever thought possible.