Better Than We Were

Sometimes our lives shift in ways that we never thought they would. And a decision that we made for such different reasons, turns out to be exactly what we needed. I have lived my whole life believing in the saying that "things happen for a reason," but I never really saw how clearly that is true until this last year. And in one year to the day that I started my life here, I have gotten everything that I wished for, just not in the way I thought I'd experience it. I have traveled, seen places that were new and intriguing, I have met people that changed my life and I have truly found in my heart where home really is.

I have grown up, and I am not afraid of who I am or what I stand for. I have learned that life is not at all fair, and that faith can be shaken. I have taken time to myself and I have loved, and I have found that in the end, knowing that you have someone, no matter where in the world they are, to love you for who you are, that is really what matters at the end of the day. That won't stop me from chasing my dreams and for going after what I want and who I want to be, but I have someone that will support me in that chase and people in my life that know that I won't ever stop until I get there.

I think so often that forget to take a step back and see where we've come from, in a year, or in 10. It's so important to see the journey and to see how we got there and who we met along the way. And when we look back, hopefully we can smile, and laugh and cry and feel all those emotions that make us human, that make us who we are. And at the end of the day, if we've chased one dream or fulfilled one goal or loved someone with all our heart, then our journey has progressed and we are better off than we were.