


Forgive easily, and love wholeheartedly
I’m not a forgiving person. Anyone who knows me knows that when I am hurt by someone, I tend to hold on to some level of anger forever. This year though, something happened that erased every angry feeling I had towards anyone who had ever hurt me. It shocked me into the reality of – if something happened to them, would I be okay holding that this feeling held back our friendship or relationship? I realized, no – I never want the people I love to not know how much I love them. The fact is, if you’re feeling hurt by someone it’s likely because you care about them, so never let your hurt outweigh your care. I’ve come to the conclusion that in my life, I would rather just love and care about people foolishly and fearlessly – to feel hurt, and forgive instantly – than to harbour anger.

Take risks
Learning to abandon reservation in relationships also helped me realize that I don’t want to hold myself back from adventure, and taking risks. For me that’s meant booking a dream trip, starting a Youtube channel, and jumping into a new job. They are all risks I was scared to take, but they have felt so rewarding since. So, if there is something you’ve always wanted to do but have felt scared to take the plunge – do it. That saying “You’ll only regret what you didn’t do” truly makes sense to me now.

Never say “someday”
I am probably the biggest offender of this one. I talk about my dreams, goals, and reaching out to people in a “someday” context all the time. This year though, one of those “somedays” was taken away, and it made me realize that I need to turn those somedays into todays. Don’t let yourself make excuses to push things off – make the time, send the message, and take the risk. In the end, what’s the worst that can happen?

Don’t let lessons pass you by
This year has been full of lessons. Some of them, incredibly painful. And, I’ve promised myself to not just let these lessons pass me by without really teaching me something and changing me in some way. I don’t know if this will make sense, but how I’ve felt is that if I let these moments pass me by without having them really change something than they’re even more senseless. Through painful experiences, we realize the things we really wish to be – maybe that’s more forgiving, more outgoing, or more adventurous – and we need to listen to those things, and make the changes in ourselves so we can really become them.


Such a cute look! And you’re right, those are three very big things! YAY!
I know what you mean about reflecting on your year since I just did it a couple weeks ago…turned the big 2-8 though, hehe. I definitely need to start taking more risks and being brave enough to tell people how I feel.
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Love all these lessons! So fun to look back and reflect on what you’ve learned over the last year! Happy belated birthday!
I wish Texas had some intense Fall weather! It’s still 90 here… That’s intensely hot haha 🙂
Well said, Bree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and reflections and hope you had a fun birthday!
Thank you so much, Cathy! It was a lovely weekend 🙂
thanks for the honest post and a cute outfit post. Too bad it rains in Vancouver every day so we won’t be wearing any outfits like that for a looong time.