In one of my recent articles, “50 Journaling Prompts for Self-Reflection,” I listed a bunch of writing prompts that will get you thinking and reflecting the next time you open up your journal. One of the biggest things I take away from journaling is building my self-awareness. Being self-aware is one of the best traits you can have in my opinion. It allows you to accept your flaws and grow with an open mind and accepting attitude. Journaling can be intimate, it can be selfish, and it can be private. Journaling can be affirming, nostalgic, and can provide company. Journaling is one of the many ways I take care of myself and calm my nervous energy.
Prompt: What is something you understand now that you didn’t know a year ago?
A year ago I was amidst an online semester, living off campus, with a steady routine and enjoying my light workload. A year ago I had just turned 21 and many of the rules and regulations I had my whole life were suddenly out the window. A year ago I was single and feeling as though my independence was so fierce I would have no idea how to share any of the weight the world puts on us with someone else. Something I did not understand a year ago was it is okay to outgrow things that no longer serve you and accept change.
If you asked my younger self how I felt about change, I would have told you it terrified me. Even when I thought I understood it, I rejected change often. Then suddenly COVID hit and everything and all of the structure in my life suddenly disappeared. My habits and expectations had to shift and the only thing left to do was to accept this new norm. Since then I have learned to be resilient. Not only adapting to new environments and new normals, but to also genuinely let go of things that do not serve me anywhere. Letting friendships ebb and flow. Allowing my experiences to happen naturally, without micromanaging every detail. Finding a partner and best friend all in one and truly letting myself form a secure and healthy attachment to someone. This meant letting go of my hyperinterpendent lifestyle that was not helpful for my well being. Trusting that my career will follow the trajectory it is meant to follow. Letting go of the clothes that don’t fit anymore from high school that no longer serve a purpose. Outgrowing my old habits and norms and embracing the change that will inevitably continue to come my way has given me so much inner peace and stability. These changes are a sign of growth. They are a sign that I have moved onto better things that are meaningful to the current version of myself. I knew that change was important a year ago, but this past year I welcomed it with open arms.
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