Another Year....

Yet another year has passed and on the eve of my 26th birthday I am feeling a little emotional. So many memories, so much pain, so much laughter and yet another person emerges. I have to reflect a little bit on so many changes that have overcome me in the last year. This year, more than ever has had a major impact on my life as a whole.
I have dealt with things that I have never dealt with before. So many painful memories that for so long were so very much a part of me, but now I am putting behind me. For the first time in a long time I am looking at these things as being in my past. I understand that they are a part of me, and this is what shaped me in some way or another, but I also realize that they are in my past, and I can not base my future on my past, or let my past dictate my life as a whole.
Now I am moving forward in a direction that is right, a direction that will better me as a whole. Today I went and finished what I need to do to go back to school. This is very important to me, I want to fulfill my dream of becoming a writer. For so long I had someone in my shadow, holding me back, telling me I was not smart enough or good enough, and why did I want to finish school when that was not my place in this world. For so long I had someone belittling me and making me feel as if I was not a whole person, someone who at the drop of a hat, made no hesitation to make me feel like the worst person in the world.
Yes now I can look back at that and say "you know what? It did happen to me, but thanks to you I am now better and stronger, and I will fulfill my dreams". No one, no one will ever hold me back again.
So you see this may seem like a little thing to so many people, but to me this is everything. One of the things I am learning this year is that no matter how things have played out for you in the past, you can always make them better for your future. I still have a very long road ahead of me, and some days are harder than others, but each day brings a new challenge, and a new promise. At least I have my dignity and my freedom back, knowing that some days are hard but I have the support I need to get through each day. This blog is one of my biggest support systems, if not only through my writings, but also through others.
So yet another year has gone, but a much more promising lays just ahead. So yes Happy Birthday to me! So much to be thankful, and grateful for.