Open

 Sometimes it is so easy to get lost in the what was or could have been. A road that is truly helpful to no one. More often than we wish, we find ourselves traveling this road rather than looking ahead to where new beauty is waiting to be found. The new year gently reminds me to reflect on my life and all that it has brought me. This year I grew a lot. I found a confidence in myself that I wasn’t sure I had with the help of the most inspiring people.  They helped me grab onto my potential and make something of it. It’s these connections that make me so excited for the upcoming year and all the new it is certain to bring. But with that I wanted to have something I can always come back to, something that reminds me the impact this year can have and all the ways it can mold me.

I decided on the word “open”.  This might seem like such a broad word but I find comfort in that. This word is my focus and purpose that can be applied to every area of my life. One simple word and yet such promise I find in it. There is solace to be found in having something to root your thoughts, actions and life in.  It's important to nourish your life daily even if it starts with one simple thing. Soon you will look around and the garden of your life will be overflowing. Some things sprouting, some wilting and others beautifully blooming. Each stage as relevant as the other because they are all open to what is next. 

This year I want to be open to the new people I am going to meet and all I can learn from each of their stories.  Open to the new place I am going to move, the apartment that will soon become my home and the hidden gems that are waiting to be explored.  I want to be open minded as I embark upon my career and absorb the endless amount of knowledge my peers will teach me.  This is a big year, full of change, so I want to focus on embracing it all with open arms. Challenges are sure to come but all I want is to constantly out run the person I was the day before. So lets get running people... Cheers to 2018, may we open our hearts and minds to the hardships that will shake us, the love that will mend us and the strength to find joy in all the in betweens.