So long 2016

    Where has the year gone? I can't believe I am mere minutes away from a whole new year! Most people are out in sparkly dresses and nice shirts and pants with a foil headband/ hat proclaiming "Happy New Years!".  I, however, am not most people. I am curled up on my couch in jeans and my grounds coffee shirt watching "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on FreeForm with a glass of wine by myself. I am not mad about any of that. Would I have had fun at a party, yes! But I didn't have one to attend which is perfectly fine. Anyway, with everyone posting on social media about reflecting back on the past year I have been thinking about my year. Honestly, it was kind of one of the worst years of my life.  This time last year I was dreading going back my university because I was falling behind and my depression and anxiety were at an all time high. A few months later one of my worst nightmares happened, literally, I have had nightmares about this,  I was forced to leave my university. It was heartbreaking. My university was my favorite place and I had built a community there. I no longer had that kind of community at home. To say the transition was rough is an understatement.  It was awful.  I went from living on my own in an apartment with a roommate within minutes from all of my friends and being able to do whatever I want whenever I want; to living back in my childhood bedroom, and hours away from my friends. There were times I wanted to curl up under my comforter and times I wanted to march back to my university and beg them to let me come back. Needless to say, my year was emotional.
  
   On a high note, I have been successfully working on getting my depression and anxiety under control. I have been going to therapy consistently and it has helped tremendously. I  have also found a passion for baristaing ( I am not sure if that is actually a word or not...oh well!) though the grounds coffee bookstore and cafe at Mecklenburg Comunity Church. I have always been a lover of coffee and a little nervous about trying to make these drinks and handling the pressure of the rush that happens right before a service starts.  I have managed to put my fears into perspective and have really enjoyed making these drinks for people even when all I see is empty cups that need to be filled with flavor syrups and milk and espresso. I know that each one of those cups will make someone happy even if it is only for a few minutes. 

  As far as school has gone, I have been working on getting my grade up and have been making some of the best grades I have made in a while. I have realized some of the things I took for granted at my former college that I don't necessarily have at my current community college and that has been a mental struggle that I have overcome.   There is still a more to overcome until I am finished, but I am trying to take it one semester at a time. 

 Rachel Whitehurst tweeted something tonight that really stuck with me. she tweeted " It was a hard year, but I'm still here and I'm still trying." I feel like this statement sums up my year. A lot of stuff happened this year, but I made it through and am still going.  

  Well, we are now almost and hour into 2017 and I think its time for me to finish my 2nd glass of wine and go to bed. Goodbye 2016, I won't miss you.
~Anne with an "e"

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