One Year

Today marks for me the one year anniversary of moving out of the Bay Area and moving back to L.A. on my own.

What a wild year it's been.

I can't count how many times I doubted that things would work out for the best. I can't count how many times I worried about finances every month. I can't count how many times I pulled all-nighters for school even though I had been working all day long and counted down the hours, sometimes days, to when I would be able to sleep restfully. I can't count how many times I cried, wishing to go back home to what was comfortable and easy.

Thank goodness I never caved into those feelings.

In spite of all that negativity, I can say today that there were more blessings and triumphs that outweighed all my worries, anxieties, and doubts. I can look back and say that I was supported by so many people that loved me and rooted for me throughout the year. I can say that God was with me every step of the way and had a purpose for every thing that seemed like a mishap which resulted into a multitude of blessings.

So in celebration of this one year anniversary and all the triumphs and the blessings, I just want to say thank you.

Thank you to those who loved me at my best and worst. Thank you to those who believed in me every step of the way. Thank you to those who supported my writing and listened to all my thoughts, my drafts, my edits, and my final pieces. Thank you to those who just listened and validated my struggle but above all, my strength. Thank you to those who reminded me that not everything has to be perfect, nor will it be, and that's okay. Thank you to those who gave me tough love and hard truths that kept me grounded and motivated me to be better. You have reminded me constantly that life is continuously a process and not something that I have to make into a product. Life cannot be shaped and formed into something that I want it to be but something that I am shaped and formed by.

May this next year continue to shape and form me into the person I am becoming.