... and we knew it was coming. Yet, somehow it seems like it came way faster than should be possible.
I recently talked about how I'm not a big fan of new year's resolutions. Goals, ambitions, hopes, dreams, those I'm all for. All the way, dream on babes. What I'm not about are arbitrary lists of things you subconsciously know you'll never do. That's basically setting yourself up for an annual cycle of self-disappointment which is pretty pointless in my opinion.
Now reflecting on a decade past is something else I'm all for. Prepare yourself for my mellow dramatic caption reflecting on my past decade.(# AnotherannoyingCaption, # MillennialsofTheWorldUnite, # You'reOnlyWritingThatCaptionSoYouCanNonchalantlyPostASelfie) Thanks, I'm aware.
But in all seriousness, this decade has been a crazy one for me. At the beginning of the decade I moved away from everyone I knew my whole life and the town I grew up in. After that I saw the Rocky Mountains for the first time, had a farmgirl experience, learned how to milk goats, lived through a few North Idaho winters, sold everything I owned, moved to a foreign country, gained a few family members and became an aunt, started a blog, found a passion for photography, tried to learn fluent Spanish, cooked for about a bijillion people, experienced a volcanic eruption, traveled to many places in between, moved back to the States, started over, worked in a restaurant, fell in love with fitness, moved to my first apartment, and obviously I've made so many friends along the way. So many.
What's even more important to me than the physical experiences is the mental and emotional journey. I've learned so much in the last decade as I'm sure you have too. Just like you, I've loved and I've lost. I learned that letting go of material belongings is actually extremely liberating. I learned that I value experiences and relationships above any physical objects. I went from being an extremely shy and insecure little girl to an adult who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go for it. I struggled with an eating disorder, dealt with a LOT of family drama (who hasn't?), had to recover from bad injury, learned about good and bad relationships, faced the immense social pressure about "where are you going to school?" knowing that I have a different outlook than most, and overall just learned to roll with things and adapt. And with all that, I'll still look back in another ten years and think how stupid I was today.
But at the end of the day, I wouldn't change one single moment of this decade because it's made me who I am. I'm so thankful for the relationships I have with my family. I'm thankful for the many friends I have, all over the world at this point, who I know I can go to in a time of need. I'm thankful for what every person in my life has added to who I am. I'm thankful for the struggles, the heartbreaks, the adventures, the surprises, and the journey as a whole. Lastly, I'm so thankful for YOU reading this right now. I just want you to know that you are a huge part of my journey. Being able to share through social media and blogging has had a huge impact on my life and none of it would be possible without you, so thank you.
I hope you guys have had your own amazing decade and have an even better one to come. Happy New Year's Eve!
