Dear Reader, December feels more like a month of reflection than most others. Granted, time is arbitrary and we are merely marching toward destruction, but still, I want to look at where I was last year at this time:
Where you are at a point in time can say a lot about your mindset. At the end of 2015, I was at the start of a new job, and in the middle bit of a really genuinely lovely relationship. It felt, at the end of that year, that 2016 was going to be that of a lot of hope.
And things were okay for a bit….
- But then a publication I poured my heart into folded abruptly.
- But then my last grandparent passed away.
- But then the relationship I was in ended.
- But then my job ended.
- But then a community leader I respected passed away.
- But then one of my favorite teachers passed away.
- But then the election happened.
I am not at the same place I was at the end of 2015. I thought 2015 had been hard on me. I thought it had worn me down to nothing. But I look back on it fondly, because there were so many lovely things that happened in 2015. I traveled more than I ever had before, did a lot of cool work, presented at a conference, and fell in love. There was brightness.
And there has been brightness this year. I did good work. I read and wrote more than I ever have. I volunteered more. And despite this how terrible this year has been, personally, professionally, nationally, despite all of that, there is still brightness.
In the coming days, I’m going to be sharing my 2017 resolutions, which are different from most other years. They’re going to require diligence, so part of what you see here in 2017 will be me talking about it here.
So dear reader, how was your 2016? Let me know in a comment below.
-M
Mehek Writes 