2010. What a year!
On December 31, 2009 I sat on the floor of my room feeling completely overwhelmed looking at the year ahead.
I felt that there were a number of incredibly painful situations I’d have to deal with, and yet sitting there, I had no idea what those would be! I also knew I’d experience great joy as I was scheduled to get my Master’s Degree!
This year has been filled with a lot of changes, pain, grieving, joys, and laughter, and sitting here, I’m fairly amazed I made it through. Not only did I survive the year, but I thrived and flourished through it.
This was a year where I made a commitment to be an active participant in my personal health and wellness. I was no longer going to be a victim of the actions of those around me, nor was I going to try to control the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of others.
I have countless reasons to celebrate and be thankful!
A friend of mine was brutally murdered, my grandpa died, and my dog died within the span of 4 months.
I was able to take what I had learned from previous losses and dealt with each of these situations in an emotionally healthy way. It certainly wasn’t easy, and I’m not saying that the pain and tears didn’t exist, but I was able to grow through these experiences.
I was the first person in my master’s program to implement and complete a thesis! I developed a wellness group and implemented it with college-aged students. Not only did I find an area of counselling that I am passionate about, but I was able to apply these ideas of wellness to myself as well. I had the opportunity to grow and become an even healthier individual through doing my thesis!
This year, I graduated with my master’s in Clinical Mental Health and Addictions Counselling this year. I learned a lot in my master’s program; not just about counselling itself, but about myself and the world around me as well. The lessons I learned through this will always be a critical part of who I am.
After graduation, I landed one of my dream jobs! Each day getting to go to a university and counsel college students! I absolutely love it, and there is a rare day where I feel that I “have to go to work” and don’t enjoy it. I so enjoy getting to sit with people amidst their pain and walk with them through their journey for a short time. I love getting to watch people make changes and make strides towards health in their life!
I started working out again! Because of some joint issues I have, it’s much easier and less painful for me to sit on the couch than to get moving. But I figured, I could go on brisk walks with friends and get an excellent work out! I was up to walking 7.5 miles in a given day before winter.
Funny thing is-as I started moving more, my eating started to naturally become a bit healthier as well!
Although I first started learning about boundaries back in 2005, this was a year to really solidify how they look and play out in my life. It’s amazing to me how much less stressful and more joyful life is without trying to control the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of those around me.
These are just a few of the big events of this year for me; there is more pain and much more joy and laughter than I would list here. But as I look back over the year, it’s been a very good one full of lots of life lessons.
We are each in a process of growing and becoming-becoming more the people we were created to be, and becoming healthier individuals.
And yes, I am a much healthier person this December then I was at the end of December last year.
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