Reflection

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward” – Rocky Balboa

2016 was a year full of doubt, depression, anxiety and full of way too many goodbyes. It tested my patience and most definitely my mental state. I did however, learn some incredible and insightful things along the way. I learnt that there is always a lesson to learn, that life is short and that sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. Most importantly, I learnt that you should fall in love with someone who wants you, waits for you and understands you even in the madness.

This year I realised everything in this world is temporary. Moments. Feelings. People. Life.
I made strangers out of friends, friends out of strangers and spent far too long dwelling over situations that were out of my control.

Unfortunately, what hurts the most, are the things you never saw coming.
I never thought I would need to say goodbye to an old friend, or someone that influenced my life in such a subtle yet significant way. I never thought I would walk away from friendships that I had spent years building up and I never thought I would have been given up on, for no reason at all.

Throughout this year of madness, I still have plenty of things to be grateful for, like the birth of my first beautiful nephew, my new exciting job and my incredible team, having the most amazing friends and family anyone could ask for, but my all-time favourite was my chance to travel.

This year I traveled to Morocco; a country that was never on my radar. I am so blessed I had an opportunity to travel to this bizarre and crazy place.

If I am being honest, I can truly say traveling and the memories of traveling have gotten me through some tough times. This year I had many moments of breaking point, my thoughts of travel would help me escape reality. I would often think about the trips I’ve taken, the countries I’ve seen and the people I have met. Every place I have seen is so remarkable it simply blows me away.

Coincidentally enough, the most amazing thing I have ever experienced is seeing the stars from the middle of the Sahara. It’s funny how something as simple as that can make you see how lucky you really are. It makes you realise how huge this planet is and how insignificant things in your life may be in comparison to others.

It also makes me aware that everyone has their own story to tell. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. So be kind, not just to friends, family or strangers but to yourself. We have the opportunity to create our own adventure, we just need to realise that this life can be short and that we are never promised tomorrow.

I honestly believe the purpose of our lives is to be happy. We should eat that pizza. Sing aloud. Swim in the ocean & Laugh – Because you never know when this life of ours will come to an end.

Even when life hits us hard, I still believe it is wonderful, challenging, and most importantly the best adventure anyone could have.

Reminiscing about the year – I sit here realising how strong I’ve become, I have grown so quickly and learnt to handle the most unpredictable of situations. With that being said, I am happy I can take a step back. I can breathe – It’s a new year and a new me.

I made it, we all made it. And in 2017, we will continue to make it.

Just remember when life brings us down to take that moment to appreciate what you have. Stop over analyzing, stop having regrets and live life like it’s the last day on earth.

“If you want to have the time of your life. Stop thinking, the time is right now”