Silver Linings

Palermo, Sicily

I won’t say that this year was difficult. Because as much as it felt like it was, I know that I am still beyond fortunate to be healthy, to be surrounded by love, and to be living my dreams. Perhaps that is my first lesson to take from this year: to recognize that as difficult as things may seem, they could always be worse. To realize that even in the very hard times, I was coping in whatever way I needed to with the recognition that things would not always be this way. I had some very dark days this year, that bled into weeks and months. But I always had someone I could call, there was always someone there to listen.

There were many unexpected challenges, things I had to learn to do for myself for the first time. I learned that when it was really necessary to get out there, to make the call, I could do it. Because I was pushed, I had to venture out and make changes and learn new things that I wouldn’t have had to do otherwise. And I got them done. I came out stronger. I choose to look at this year as the year of silver linings, and learning my strength and the power I have within me is certainly one.

Now that I know just how much I have within me, I am excited to see how I can use this strength, this fire, this passion, this energy to dedicate to the things I love, to the waves I want to make in the world. This year has opened my heart so wide. I have met so many new people who have enriched my life in so many ways. So many laughs, so many smiles, so many shoulders to lean on, and to cry on. They may not know the impact they had on me, but I do.

This year, those dark days brought me so low. Forcing a smile on the outside while my heart was breaking inside my body only made the pain twice as worse. It was in these moments, and there were many, that seemed so hard, when I was able to reach out to my friends who have known me the longest and who know me the best. They saved me. They kept me going. They reminded me this was only temporary. They listened to me for sometimes hours, they listened to me when I had nothing to say. They were on the journey with me from the beginning, with all the highs and all the lows. They never held back how they saw things, but they also never judged me. They knew before I did how things were going, but they also knew I had to learn some lessons for myself. Because I needed them, because I was in so much pain, I was more open and more honest than I have probably ever been in my life. And they didn’t back down or shy away. They sometimes carried me from one day to the next, and I mean that in the most sincere way.

Sometimes we don’t know how strong we are until something tries to break us. I can’t go back and wish these challenges hadn’t happened. I am a better person today because I went through them. I am grateful for what I learned along the way. And I am forever grateful for those who held my hand and walked beside me, whether they knew why I needed them or not.

love,

greer