Year out: We made it!

2018 has been extraordinarily exhilarating. This year has been my first full year in New York. I never thought I’d survive January through December without getting a glimpse of home. Thankfully, I did! We are now on our last day of the year and looking back, it has been a year full of unexpected awesomeness and valuable lessons.

People.

Meeting new and old friends is always a great way to feed your soul. This year, I was able to deepen my professional and personal relationships with some of my graduate school colleagues. If not for them, my professional life would have been topsy-turvy. Well, a wee bit, I guess?

I was also able to solidify my social circle in the city that never sleeps. Being away from home gave me a sense of insecurity. Thanks to these friends, I managed to adjust gracefully. I don’t know if I can already consider myself a full-fledged New Yorker, but I can smoothly say New York is now my home. And it’ll probably be my home for the next few years or next few decades... Whatever.

I’ve also met a bunch of people who I knew I’d meet for a reason. Some reminded me of how the pain felt like. Others taught me to see the value in trivial things. Whatever the reasons may be, I am a lot stronger and a lot weaker because of these people. It has truly been a pleasure!

Places.

Exploring has never been this fun! Working my way around tough situations, I learned that money is not a requirement to bring you to places. Your dreamland may just be a blink away. Sometimes, blurring the lines between reality and make-believe helps you travel to places you have never imagined visiting.

It may have been a little difficult for my predicament to physically travel (yup, I’m broke AF) but it sure was easy to still fly high and rejuvenate my consciousness. I needed a break. Little did I know that the break I was talking about was a break from monotony, a break from where comfort used to pamper me.

With renewed spirits, I choose to stay put and wander.

Things.

Nothing. Yes. This year was about not giving a damn about how people think about me. This year was about caring less by being a little more sensitive. This year, too, was about mindful detachment from earthly possessions. This year was about owning nothing but having everything.

Experiences.

Most of all, 2018 is about keeping tabs of the experiences that have molded and will continue to inspire me to keep on keeping on. It has definitely been about chronicling how blessed I have been amid my struggles. It’s easy to complain about how I ended up doing odd jobs. But I thought it would be way easier to appreciate the fact that many people would kill just to be where I am right now. Yes, I am talking about the same silver lining she talked about in her answer.

The glass is half full, y'all. Congratulations. We all have survived the year that was. Whatever is in store for us, I’m sure we’d be able to manage. Thank you (2018), (on to the) next.