December: Looking Behind and Ahead

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Here we are at December 1st. Congratulations! If you're reading this post, you've made it so far. I think we can make it to the end of the year.

I'm coming out of an intense month of school papers and NaNoWriMo (I won! How did I do that with four classes and three papers? I don't know. I really don't.) and somehow... I want to go back and do it again.



I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. November was a blizzard of a month. I flew from one thing to the next to the next. I was exhausted. I cried, and I felt like sleeping for eternity, but I lived! Somehow, in the midst of the chaos, I found peace. The world was crazy, but amid a caffeine induced swamp of reality and flying words, I felt settled. It was awesome!




While I'm tempted to look back on November with fondness, this quote reminds me to look ahead and anticipate all that is to come. The good and the bad. The light and the dark. The sadness and the joy. Because through all of it, I feel like I'm growing stronger. Sure, there are hard times up ahead, but that makes the good things even more beautiful. 

I'm what you might call an "optimistic realist". Any cheerfulness, any optimism you read/see in me, I have to practice. I struggle with anxiety and depression and most of the time have to fight for joy. But it's so worth it! When I'm able to reach through the spiderweb-like veil of sadness and difficulty and find joy on the other side, it's like being enveloped in light and peace. 

So, although I don't know what this month will hold, I aim to have the mindset of an explorer. There are unknown seas ahead, but I will stand on the deck of this ship called "2020" and look out to the horizon. Somewhere out there is land. And it's good. 



- Julia Garcia / Arysta Henry

Comments

  1. Azelyn KleinDecember 8, 2020 at 7:31 AM

    Congratulations on winning NaNoWriMo! I never attempted to try while I was in school, so that's really admirable of you. Actually, I think writing amid a job is harder, but maybe that's me.

    I love your outlook on the future. Here's to December. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arysta Henry December 8, 2020 at 12:17 PM

      Thank you, Azelyn! This is my second time trying NaNoWriMo during school and it's definitely been better this round. I think it depends a lot on what you are studying as well. If I was studying math, it might be impossible. Math saps all my brain power.

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