It’s okay to change, to grow, to learn new things

For me it’s been a long year, with so many incredible ups and so many pretty exhausting downs, but either way… I know I have changed as a person. I’m not gunna get all philosophical here, but I am acknowledging how much I have grown this past year. I still have moments (pretty much everyday) where I get completely overwhelmed, moments where I think nothing will ever change, and hope isn’t real…

I have always been terrified of change, however I’ve learnt this past year that change isn’t all that bad. We all deal with things in different ways and we all do things at our pace, which is fine, we weren’t made to be carbon copies of each other – we’re here to leave our own mark, and we have to figure things out in our own way. I am a different person now to the one I was a year ago. Being a ‘different’ person doesn’t mean I’ve changed completely, it just means I’ve learnt new things. In this past year I’ve endured a lot of stuff that I didn’t think I could face, and I have to remind myself of this – especially when the darkness feels unfamiliar and terrifying.

When things get really tough I have to remind myself to look back at everything that I’ve overcome the past year; I have to look at what I’ve achieved, what I’ve learnt and, most importantly, I try to remind myself of the things that this time last year I thought was impossible.

For some reason it’s widely accepted that being a ‘different person’ is bad… if we grow or if we change as a person it’s normally acknowledged for all the wrong reasons. Sometimes we should celebrate change, especially if the change is detrimental to enhancing your way of life. (Aka: battling daily with depression and somehow finding new ways to cope).

Sometimes you have to be brave. Sometimes you don’t realise how brave you have been. Be brave to acknowledge your brave. It’s weird, allowing yourself to be kind to you… it’s brave and it’s wonderful. Be brave, oh please be brave.