I'm sitting here, writing and taking down Christmas decorations. Do you know what that means? It means:
1) My favorite season of the year has/is coming to an end. Thats right. I now am expected by our high standard society to stop listening to christmas music, stop talking about santa, and last but not least, all the talk and hype about this holiday season is now over.
2) It means the snow will come to an end. The beautiful, magical, white flakes that grace the earth and make everything pretty is no longer.
3) It means that a new year is here and with that comes new opportunities and new beginnings.
Its definitely a bitter sweet day.
{2016} is here, and {2015} has gone.
So {2015}, you were great. You brought and taught me a lot.
You started off in Brasil, in a city I didn't ever think would make it into my heart. Yet, it became a cherished place for me. You brought me the people I love most, ones that I will consider a forever.
I came home, and returned to BYU Idaho, my one and only college.
I got back into the grind of work, and studies.
{2015} gave relationships that were great in the moment, and break ups that were better.
I had a job, that gave me friends.
An apartment that gave me best friends.
Lessons were learned in the trials, memories were made on the weekends.
{2015} was definitely a highlight year, and one I'll never, no never, forget.
Things that {2015} has taught me:
~Things really do come and go. I guess I knew this already, as people have proven it to me time and time again. But this year I learned that sometimes we are in control of that. If we really want something, we will fight for it. I learned that sometimes I get sad about things that leave, even if I don't necessarily want them.
~People will let you down. I don't care if they say they're your best friend, or if they are some stranger on the street. The fact is, we are human. And in order for us to grow, and know of good things, we have to be let down a little bit. We have to feel rejection, and pain or sadness. We have to know the bad ones, to get to the good ones--and appreciate them at that.
~Keep your faith. Man, there were so many days this year that I thought. Why the heck should I keep believing? Why should I keep going? And no, not just belief or faith in my Heavenly Father but in other things. Things such as the strength of humanity, or my personal ability to do what I want/need.
~Surround yourself with the best, and the bad times seem less bad. Like I stated earlier, I met some of absolute bests this year. I had a couple that have been in my life for a while, and they mostly stayed in tack. But this year, I opened up to more, and found some serious keepers. These people, made some of my hardest moments in life, easier. Easier in the sense that they supported me, they gave counsel, they made me laugh, they did what they could to help. And that is the secret to all when you may be going through a hard time.
But, I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to live in the moment and dream of my future.
{2016}, I think I am ready for you. I never truly know how to feel, or what to think as the clock strikes midnight, and we start yet another year. I think, how in the world could this year be any different? I'm not making any big changes right now. But yes, I realize how dumb it is to think that.
{2016}, I know you will be filled with everything I need. I know that whatever happens this year is supposed to happen. I am excited. Of course I am excited! I am in my 20's, living in an apartment on my own with friends. I am close to graduating, on the verge of making my dreams happen.
I have an absolute certainty that what may come in {2016}, will forever be part of me.
I am at a good place to start my new year.
A good college.
With an incredible family.
Friends that bring a smile.
[And something I don't announce on here usually] A great guy by my side.
{2015} was a nice set up to make my {2016} be wonderful.
Yours truly,
Annalee
