Letter to Self: Reflections of the Last and Notes for the Year Ahead

Happy New Year, everyone! I love this time of year because it gives us a chance to stop and reflect. And I have to be honest with you…This past year was, well, unexpected. We all know life isn’t just a highlight reel, so I wanted to share the full story.

Sometimes in life you show up for the holidays with one iPhone charger and leave with zero. Okay, maybe this analogy is really specific to visiting my family for the holidays; and in the shuffle of your multitude of siblings, someone’s charger somehow ends up getting swiped –in this case mine. You wake up one day with no clue what, who, or how that charger you protected so preciously disappeared. I have a feeling I know the culprit, but I won’t blast them on here. 

…a subtle life reminder of the importance of having an adequate support system to give you the unconditional supercharge you need when you no longer know where you’ve placed your cord…

The moral of this story is (I want my charger back!) that despite having my charger go missing, I still gained access to power cords I could borrow from my siblings. Which meant sometimes inconveniencing them so that I can have my turn at juicing. Interestingly, a subtle life reminder of the importance of having an adequate support system to give you the unconditional supercharge you need when you no longer know where you’ve placed your cord, and how you’ll power through that last remaining 20% of battery.

In 2018, I had opportunities present themselves that I’ve longed for and prayed about for such a long time. I collected much needed and desired travel miles. Switched jobs and got the promotion I wanted in the process. Overcame loss of relationships, poured into myself and my physical fitness even more, and doubled down on my professional life. Still a feeling of emptiness continued to grow within me.

As we all stop to reflect on the past year, and set our intentions for navigating the year ahead or write out resolutions, the main thing I hope for and am working towards is getting my charger back.

The feeling of a dying phone battery with no where to sufficiently charge continued to intensify in the background. It started to eat away at many things. Everyday stresses at work were compounded with this feeling. The coldness of living in a city where relationships are transaction based, where support system requires a flight or extended train ride, all compounded this emptiness amidst so many personal feats and milestones.

As we all stop to reflect on the past year, and set our intentions for navigating the year ahead or write out resolutions, the main thing I hope for and am working towards is getting my charger back. Getting this back for me means realigning with my purpose. Rediscovering the “what” to the “how” and “why” I do things. For what I’m ultimately living for in this thing called life. To be honest with you, I sadly am no longer really sure.

…remember what you set out for, do what it takes and sacrifice what you need to in order to find that inner peace you seek.

Cliche quotes like “make sure you do it for you,” has me like “but why are you even doing it?” So I pen this note to my present and future self, as a call to: remember what you set out for, do what it takes and sacrifice what you need to in order to find that inner peace you seek. Get that charger back and the support you need to power through, to keep your battery full, and to prosper.

In closing, I leave you all with this as you write out your own resolutions and go forth to conquer the new year, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1

Getting this back for me means realigning with my purpose. Rediscovering the “what” to the “how” and “why” I do things. 

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