Things I learned in 2017

2017 was a year of experiences and challenges and I learned some important lessons.

Firstly,  I learned that I am capable of traveling on my own and that I actually enjoy it. This year I traveled to 4 countries, 3 of those countries I traveled to by myself.  There's a delicious freedom to being able to choose to do whatever I want whenever I want without consulting someone else. I could see everything I wanted to and I when I was tired I could stop and do nothing. I do love traveling with other people but I learned this year that I also really enjoy solo travel.

Secondly, I've learned to love myself more this year and be more comfortable in my own skin. I guess this is also part of growing older but I've found while looking in the mirror I have less and less negative remarks going through my head. I have accepted that I will never have a perfectly sculpted body and that's OK. I like myself the way I am. As long as I'm healthy and can do the things I want to do, that's good enough for me. I appreciated seeing more curvy women represented in social media and in fashion this year, like Ashley Graham and Denise Bidot. I think it really helps to see women of all shapes and sizes represented in the media we see every day. It's a small step towards healthier mindsets about body image and I know I've benefited from it.

Lastly, the hardest and most painful lesson I have learned this year is that love is not always enough. Sometimes, timing and circumstances cannot be overcome by love and the kindest thing you can do is let someone go. Sometimes loving someone means letting them go.

My hope for 2018 is that I continue to grow and learn and become a better person. May this year also be a year of growth and learning for you as well. I'll leave you with a quote I found recently:

“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.” 
― T.H. White, The Once and Future King