This will be our year

New Years' Eve has never been a good holiday for me. I'm always reflecting on the year and wishing I had accomplished more. As I was thinking back on 2012, I felt like there had been more downs than ups and I got a little depressed. But then I think about how I spent five long, hard months completing an internship. The hours were long and the work was hard, but I didn't give up and now I am one step closer to achieving my dream. I think about how I made a lot of dear friends; some that are lifelong and I will cherish forever; others that only had a short part in my life. And I am thankful.

If anything, 2012 has taught me that I am a lot stronger than I think. It taught me to trust in myself and although I made a lot of mistakes, I don't regret any of them because they have made me stronger and wiser. I know that 2013 will have its fair share of ups and downs, but I am determined to make it wonderful.

Wishing you all a happy and fulfilling New Year!

Love is a song that we've sung

My last post got me thinking about qualities that I really admire in other people and things that I want to improve in myself. Especially with the new year coming up, I need to keep these in mind. It's never too late to make a change in your life.

Here's what I came up with in no particular order.

1. Generosity
I need to try to be more generous and think about others instead of getting so caught up in my own problems. Small acts of kindness mean so much more than we even realize. I try to make an effort to do something nice for strangers or someone I love every day, but it's easy to get caught up in my own sorrows or frustrations that I don't always stick to it.

2. Genuinity
There's nothing that I appreciate more than when someone is truly genuine. Sometimes I will hold back something I want to say for fear of sounding fake.

3.Open-mindedness
 I can't stand when people are so closed-minded that they won't even listen to what others have to say. I've definitely improved on this aspect of my life since high school and feel like I am very open-minded. Open mind, open heart.

4. Free-spiritedness
This is something I struggle with. I am generally a carefree person, but occasionallly I tend to overthink, over-analyze, and worry, worry, worry. Hmm...not that worrying runs in my family or anything (wink, wink), but I am constantly trying to simplify my life and just be the best I can be. Worrying does nothing to solve the problem anyway.

5. Dreamers
This kind of goes along the lines of free-spirits, but I admire anyone who stays true to their dreams and doesn't let voices tell them they can't. I used to be a dreamer and believed that anything was possible, but as we gain more experience, reality makes it that much harder to do. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this one. Most days I am such a dreamer and keep my head in the clouds, but other days reality knocks me down and I find it almost impossible that I was able to think such things. I'm making more of an effort to keep to the former.

What are qualities you admire and what do you want to improve?