5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! [or, in mariah carey's case, a not so happy one].

with the exception of my beautiful mother passing away, 2016 was really good to me. i knocked 11/12 things off of my bucket list; i conquered my fear of karaoke [i hate mics] and driving tests, watched the jays play in different parks, sat on a beach in the dominican, let my picasso out during paint nite, saw garth brooks live, and the list goes on.

in a weird way, i didn't want to say good bye to 2016. not because i feared this year wouldn't be as fun [it certainly will be], but because my mom was a part of it. [i realize i carry her with me everywhere i go, but it's different, ya know?]

i also realize that time is just an illusion, but changing a year - or a day, month, whatever - makes it seem more ... i don't know ... real? it's as if our lives are measured in markers and milestones, and time.

i can't wait for this year to be over.
tomorrow will be better.
this week sucks, and so forth.

but the truth is, time is just time; it keeps moving, and it certainly doesn't change because the date does. [how's that for encouragement?].

but, if we let it, it can be useful. and full of hope. but it's not the ticking of the clock that makes it meaningful, it's the way we spend it. the thoughts we think. the choices we make. the people we hang out with.

i started 2017 off on the right foot by quitting my job. [some of you may call that the wrong foot lol, but it was a long time coming]. after months of persevering and a moment of clear direction, i made the courageous decision to leave. i've since spent my time job hunting [i have an exciting lead and meeting on monday], singing, dancing, reading, studying poverty and homelessness, and hanging out in used book stores without a care in the world. seriously, i don't remember a time where i felt this happy or at peace.

do you have some changes you need to make in your life 'this year'? why not start today? because, well, the even crazier thing about time is that it's not guaranteed. not for you and not for me.