Last year (feels odd to say that when referring to 2016) I started writing a blog about my year. Something like a wrap up blog of the year. I never finished it. Mostly because of the holidays and partly due to my lack of motivation. I’m just going to scrap that one and share a few of my thoughts on the year here.

Before 2016 ended I saw an endless amount of post, blogs, and articles on how horrible the year had been for most people. I honestly don’t blame anyone who felt that way. I had a few (by few I mean a lot) bumps in the road myself. I took some comfort in knowing that I wasn’t the only person that had a hard year. There’s just something special about feeling connected to complete strangers even if it wasn’t exactly on happy terms. I decided to not write or really focus on the bad things of last year. After all, that stuff is behind me now.

Good things-For my sons 10th birthday we took a trip to the Atlanta aquarium. It was a first for us and we very much enjoyed it. The look on my sons face every time he saw something new was worth everything in the world. 10 has been a good age for him. He’s learning to be comfortable in his own skin and with that comes an endless amount of questions. He was accepted into BETA club. That was a huge deal for him since only 4 other kids received an invite. He’s a really smart kid and I’m not just saying that because he’s my son. His grades prove it haha. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort he has put in to stay on top. The older he gets the closer of a friendship we have. I’m not gonna lie, I miss his sweet baby age but I’m really enjoying the bond we have now. It’s been a wonderful and sometimes difficult experience watching him grow into this amazing human full of his own opinions on life. He has his own voice and he’s made it clear that he’s not afraid to use it.

Last year I went through somewhat of a self discovery. I always thought that when you find out more things about yourself you feel relieved and good. That wasn’t really the case here. The experience was triggered by not so good events so maybe that’s why. I wasn’t really happy about it then but I am now. It’s hard to appreciate a process when everything seems to be falling apart. Now it’s just something I can look back on and laugh. As a matter of fact, I already have. I’ve learned more about my triggers with anxiety. I haven’t really conquered them but knowing them is a start. Other people understanding them and being mindful to it…well that’s a completely different story.

As most of you know my husband and I made the decision to spice up our apartment and to finally put down some roots. Our furniture is amazing. We’ve had everything for almost a month and I’m still not over the excitement of it. With him being the cook in our family, he’s very much enjoying the new pots and pans and I’m enjoying eating the food he makes on the new dishes. I know, it might be dumb to be excited about small things like that but I am. I think the biggest enjoyment I get out of everything is that we really worked for and earned everything we now have. It wasn’t handed to us and there’s just a small amount of pride in that.

Other good things…well I saw more of my state last year than I think I have the entire time I’ve lived here. I love to explore and try new things and last year was full of that. I started this blog and it has been wonderful. I have gotten more support from people on here than I have from some of the people I have known for years. It not only helped me through my journey but it gave me hope in humanity. Thank you for that! People really do care, maybe not all the time but sometimes is good enough for me. I’ve learned a lot from other people here too.

2017 is here! I didn’t set a new year resolution. I’ve set them before and failed so I decided to start the year without being doomed to fail again. I know what I want out of this year and I’m going to do my best to make everything happen. My biggest focus (outside of my family) is to learn how to be completely happy with everything that I am. I know that I have to start taking care of myself mentally so that I can take better care of the people I love. I have cut some drama out of my life already and now I’m just working on letting those emotions go with it. It’s a process but one I’m sure I’ll be able to finish soon enough. I don’t want anyone in my life that only brings bad vibes. It’s just not good to be around that much negativity.

That pretty much sums that up. I wish you all a super awesome 2017!