Blogmas

17 Things I learned in 2017


The end of the year is a time that most people pause and reflect on the past year and think about what will come with the New Year. Some years I spend more time reflecting than others. Almost every year New Year’s Eve is kind of a wistful day for me. My mind races through all of the good and bad memories from the year, and I often worry some about what will come with the New Year. I often hear people talk about how a new year scares them because we don’t know what’s going to happen. This year I started thinking more about that. The truth is; is that we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow or even two hours from now. Yes, we do things that cause other things to happen, but overall we don’t hold the reins of our life. The best thing we can do is live each day to the fullest as if it is our last. It doesn’t matter whether it is December 31st or August 10th.

There are years in our lives where our life takes a rapid twist or turn in another direction. Typically it starts with something monumental happening, perhaps you enter or graduate college, begin or end a relationship, suffer a significant loss, find or lose a job. I’ve had several of those years where I feel something change and I know I will never go back to the person I was before that point, this was one of those years. I feel like I grew a lot as a person in 2017. I graduated college with my third degree (a bachelors) in December 2016, so the beginning of 2017 was rather rocky. I was trying to more or less recover from my college experiences, adapt to a normal lifestyle, and figure out what I wanted to do for a living. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to start working or continue my education. In the end I decided to do both and start blogging seriously. I started my first business and registered for classes to pursue my next degree. There were a lot of ups and downs, happy, sad, and bittersweet moments in 2017 as there are in most years. I found that it is possible to follow your dreams. I watched my little brother graduate high school with highest honors, and finish his first college semester with a 4.0. And I made tons of fun memories with my family and friends – more than I could count. I am blessed beyond what I could ever imagine and definitely beyond what I deserve. Because of all this 2017 was a very special year to me.

17 Things I learned in 2017
  1. God’s way is the best way.
  2. Prayer is a life saver.
  3. Sometimes it is good to let go, because you can’t reach for something new if your hands are full.
  4. Sometimes winging it is the best way, but…
  5. A lot of times planning is good.
  6. Reading a devotion or bible verse can make your entire day better.
  7. It’s okay to be the only one doing something a certain way.
  8. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can start to build.
  9. Everything does actually happen for a reason, even if it is super annoying.
  10. No one has to give you permission to try and follow your dreams.
  11. You can do anything if you set your mind to it.
  12. Unless it’s maybe your close family and friends, what people think doesn’t matter at all.
  13. It’s okay to take a break.
  14. Don’t do something to make other people happy, if it makes you miserable.
  15. It doesn’t have to be January to start a new resolution for yourself.
  16. Writing down goals does help you meet them.
  17. You don’t have to write in your journal every single day for it to be special.

Every choice – good or bad – that we make forms our future. As we enter 2018 try to remember when life seems to take a wrong turn, in reality it may be the right direction. Things don’t always go as planned, but in the end often it is for the best. Challenges are what build us into the person we should be. In life you have two choices. You can either let the obstacles pile up and pin you down, or you can climb and use them to stand taller than you ever thought possible. 2016 was practice, 2017 was pre-game and 2018 is game time! Use the obstacles you faced in 2017 to help you grow and stand tall in 2018.

This was a fun article to write, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it, lol! Here’s to a blessed and amazing 2018! Be safe, have fun and Happy New Year!!!