THIS YEAR HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE YEAR NOT ONLY WITH MY BLOG + INSTAGRAM, BUT WITH JUST LIFE. WITH THAT SAID, IT'S ALSO BEEN ONE OF THE HARDEST YEARS OF MY LIFE. I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO START TELLING YOU HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED THIS YEAR. AT THE END OF THE DAY THOUGH, I'VE GROWN UP AND LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT THE WORLD,THE PEOPLE in it AND MOST IMPORTANTLY MYSELF.
I've done so much this year: I turned 20 (not being able to say I'm a teenager anymore was scarier than I thought), I felt a kind of pain that I never thought was possible, I cried (a lot), I got to explore and live in one of the most beautiful countries (Columbia), I cried more (I'm a crier, people), I traveled to England and Italy with my family, I saw my cousins for the first time in 10 years, I laughed a lot, I experienced a beautiful wedding of the first cousin in my family to get married, I went to NY with Harper's Bazaar, I cried (of happiness this time), I got to experience NY with my incredible mother, I went to Miami to see my best friend I haven't seen in a year, I made new friends and accepted that some friendships wont last as long as I could've sworn they would, worked my butt of in school and it payed off (maybe I'm a better engineer than I thought?), I helped move my sister to AZ, and most importantly I grew...like a lot.
Here's one harsh truth about instagram. It doesn't show everything. Yes, those pictures are all mine and do show a glimpse of what's going on in my life, but it doesn't show everything. For me instagram is about inspiring people, not bragging or trying to show off what you have, but rather to capture my personal style and the beauty in everyday things God created, share it with the world, and inspire others to do the same. I don't know about you, but looking at the positive sides of things is important to my sanity. So, you probably wouldn't know that my 20th birthday was probably my least favorite to date from that cute little boomerang I posted, or that my sisters yelled at me for taking too long to snap that pic of the in-n-out burgers a couple days ago. I said that to say, there's a lot of sweat, tears, ugly moments, and happy times that go into what people do (no matter what it is) and just because you don't see it doesn't mean their journey was a glamorous one. Don't ever wish for what someone has because you don't know what they went through to get there. If you want something, work your behind off so that you can get it.
I challenge us -- you and I both -- to write down a goal we have for 2017 (somewhere you want to go or something you want to do...anything) . Write it down somewhere and put it in your pajama drawer. Work your ass off to get there. We'll meet back in a year and let each other know if we accomplished it. ;) If last year someone told me I would be able to accomplish these things in 2016 I would have actually laughed in their face. Like full on vein in the middle of my forehead would protrude, laugh so hard I'm about to cry and pee my pants -- that kind of laughter. A lot can happen in a year, but with a little faith in God, prayer, and drive the world is at your fingertips.
Last but not least, I want to thank everyone that I came into contact with this year -- people I laughed with, random people that smiled back at me in the mall, the woman that took my parking spot at Lennox the week before Christmas, my incredible family, my friends, those that hurt me and didn't know they did, those that intentionally hurt me, people that watched me ugly cry and still love me, everyone that had faith in me when my faith in myself was running on E, you for your constant support with my blog, the incredible people Estee Lauder + Harper's Bazaar because you sparked a fire to continue to do what I love when I needed it most, my blogger babes Chan + Em because I don't know how I'd do school without you, my Mom for being my biggest fan, my sisters for being brutally honest with me, and most importantly I want to thank God for giving me good health and strength to get through this year all glory goes to Him.
WAS 2016 HARD? HECK YES, BUT I DON'T REGRET A DAMN THING. IT'S CRAZY TO THINK HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED THIS YEAR AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT'S TO COME.
2017, I'M COMING FOR YA.
