It started out with a proposal.
It continued with a wedding.
And it ended with two families celebrating together.
I am in awe. I'm grateful and blessed beyond my wildest dreams.
Having my whole family back here again started off the year in an amazing way.
Being proposed to by the best man in the world made me the luckiest girl in the world.
Putting a wedding together with the help of family and friends made me feel so loved and blessed in such a way that I had never experienced before.
And ending the year with both Ryan's and my family was the coolest celebration! My heart is full.
There were definitely some challenging times though, but as I look back on them, those were blessings in disguise. Whether those tough times made me stronger, or taught me how to deal with certain people, showed me to plan better, or work on improving something about me, and even dream bigger... those hard things were important to go through.
I'm 25 years old. But for the first time in my life I feel like an adult. It was probably being married and having to think, and plan better for things such as budget, and life goals. It was probably that I found myself in a dead-end -8 to 5- mind numbing job. It was probably that I now had bills to pay, insurance premiums to figure out, meals to plan, groceries to buy, vet bills to pay, and all those other haunting, but necessary duties. The combination put on me a whole lot of pressure to figure out what to do with my life, and to do it now.
I was miserable in my job. And I felt like I gave up everything that I was just to try to make ends meet. I doubted whether there was something better than this... but there had to be. I don't want to live my life paycheck to paycheck, buying luxuries so I can enjoy them less than I wish I could because I'm too worried trying to figure out how to pay for them. That is not the life I want for me and my husband. We want simplicity, we want joy, and we want to follow our hearts.
I am truly grateful for my husband. I understand more and more what it means to be a team. He helped me through those hellish months of that miserable job and taught me how to be patient, how to not let it define me, and how to get as much as possible out of it. And I did. And its time to move on.
I learned that I'm not an 8-5 kind of person. That I can't work for a place that goes against what I believe in. That I need to surround myself with people that dream bigger than normal. That money really isn't everything, and a more simple life is more enjoyable. I learned that creativity is a must in my life - it fuels my drive. I learned that a fancy car and to dress like a model does not matter to me. I learned that my goal in life is to stand behind people and show them how to fulfill their own dreams. I figured out my life's project! I remembered how I love to travel. I remembered why I miss home. And I remembered that while I am an adult and have tons of responsibilities, my life has just began and my heart will always dream like a kid, and not see limits in what I can accomplish.
So 2012, I welcome you. Your new challenges and adventures. I open my arms wide to a year with my amazing husband and family. To a new job, new friends, new goals. With the same and improving strength, drive, and motivation. My plans are many, but I hold to that only One constant aspect of my life and pray that my path may be shaped on that foundation. And with all my might, I will work hard to see to life those dreams that have been engraved in my heart.Husband, I love you and cherish you. Family, you grow ever more important in my life, and you all inspire me to become who I was called to be. To you all, I thank for your support in all this, and to you all I dedicate this year!
