2021

There are years that make us question ourselves, and years that provide us with answers. This year, I had both. This year, I learned to find closure: not with others, but with myself. The growth that I have endured comes from a place where I had to unlearn certain beliefs and habits to feel and become authentic again. Learning the importance of discipline and committing to certain routines helped me promote my wellbeing. Setting boundaries and saying no helped me develop self respect and value in my morals. In difficult times, I recognized the importance in not running away from my problems or the person I was so that I could learn the beauty in embracing change in that very moment.

Change seems scary to us. Change has an endless capacity of meaning to each one of us. It’s subjective. The decision to embrace change is never easy. We feel that the place that we are already in is comfortable enough, so why risk that comfort for another period of pain? We fail to realize that it is normal for change to feel scary and even uncomfortable at first. We fail to realize that we need to acknowledge our vulnerabilities and our fears so that we can slowly, but surely, mend our wounds. When you choose to heal, you choose to undergo the pain that comes along in the process. When you choose to heal, you are choosing yourself.

We are all so caught up in what the outcome can be, that we forget to appreciate the journey that comes along with it. I learned of the people and places I can go to to make my heart happier in times where everything around me feels like it’s falling apart. I learned that I am enough, and the actions of another should not convince me otherwise. I learned to appreciate the beauty in growth, and what it has done to make me become a better sister, daughter, and friend. Don’t strive to become the best; strive to become better. The only person that you should ever compete with is your past self. I have learned that the real glow up is never physical; the real glow up is when you recognize your worth and how you can help others with everything that you already are in this world.