Thank You

Welcome to a new year.

I read a funny tweet today from @blackfistrising that read "A DATE doesn't change a person.  Good try, December 31st."  I thought it was cute.  Apt.

And while I find the quote to be true, I got to wondering, "Can a person change in a DAY?"  I've concluded that many people change drastically in a day.  Ask someone who's ever experienced love, loss or both.  People go from "I can't live without..." to "I am ok without..." in a day.  Maybe the transition isn't sudden.  But it happens.  And one day, just like that, they find themselves in a space they never thought possible.

Every year, every day, really, presents new opportunities.  The new year presents a fresh start for many people.  Many will try to start their new healthy living regimen, whatever it is, only to fall back into old habits.  Not because the attempt was made on January 1st, but because the attempt is just that--an attempt to try to do old things a little differently.

But change don't come easy.

So this is my toast to a new day.  A new year.  A new beginning.  A new ending.  I appreciate that I've lived long enough to learn that there is no new beginning without an ending.  It's why "commencement" (which means "beginning") is such an apt name when one has obtained a degree.  One element of collegiate education had to end for the next beginning.

So, looking back, I'm thankful for all of the endings.  My grandmother's passing, my dissolved friendships, elements of myself that have been lost, perhaps never to be regained, isolation.  I've learned along the way that there is beauty in all of it, if you're still enough to see that when one door closes, another will open and even if it's not a door, it's a window pane--but something opens.  That's life.  Embrace it.

I'm looking forward to all that awaits me as I inch toward 30.  I was rushing to get to 30 so I could get to feelin' grown.  But I've decided I'm going to enjoy each day.  Thank you to everyone who supported me, left me when I needed to be left, supported me when I had no legs, uplifted me and even those who tried to break me.  Each of you have made me stronger.

With Rivers of Love,
Me

PS:  I've decided that when I fail at my attempts, I'm going to buy some champagne, dance to good music, toast to a new day, and start again.