To 2014

     It's difficult to look back on years that have passed and see the person that I used to be. Often times I will recall the warm summer nights that I would spend in North Carolina on my porch. I would sit there and watch silently as the electrical storms pierced the air with their subtle lightning beams. Much like the rapid fire of those nights, thoughts of my future would come and go as they wished, knowing no limits as to the direction in which they would follow. At that time I was certain of two things. The first was that I had absolutely no plans, and the second was that I wanted to be inexplicably happy.
     Fast forward a couple years into the future, and I'm no longer in North Carolina. Instead, I'm in the passenger seat of a U-haul truck traveling down the dusty roads of New Mexico. I'm happy that I didn't know what 2013 was going to hold for me. The thing about knowing the future is that you often question it when you need to let it be. What I love about not knowing the answers to specific situations at the time that they occur, is that you're forced to work through them. Although it may not be enjoyable during that point in time, it is the very journey, the act of losing yourself to solving the problem, that makes you all the richer. So yes, I'm happy that I only had a slight clue that my life was about to change.
     Moving to Arizona gave me the chance to reinvent myself and no longer have to dream about the type of person that I wanted to be, but actually be it. The repercussions to starting a new life in the west were slightly bitter at first, but as time progressed, so did my story. I began to meet people who showed me a view of the world that I had always envied. Through them I was taught to be intentional in my relationships with others and how to live my life one day at a time. Through various people I was encouraged to become closer to God, which I did. In this specific time, things really began to pick up. My reignited relationship with Christ lead me to landing a job that I loved, solidifying friendships that I had never imagined possible, and experiencing His abounding love through the wonders of His creation.
     It's funny how right when things seem to be going so well, God throws a wrench in your path. Although these things seemed to put a bad taste in my mouth, I ended up learning a lot about who I was through them. Today, on the second day of 2014, I look back on the adventures that I was lucky enough to experience, and the lessons that I was so mercifully taught. I realize now that they're only a couple of the many instances that made 2013 the best year of my life so far. So here's to the unknown, the moments that have not yet been made, and the friends that I still haven't met. Here's to the new year.