If this year felt like a dozen lives at once...

Hey you,

Some years feel like a dozen lives rolled into one.

Maybe last year was that kind of year for you, too.

So much happened; plans changed, surprises came, and some things just didn’t go the way you imagined. Some days, it might have felt like you barely kept up... or maybe that you didn’t do “enough.” I get that. I’ve been there.

Last year, I felt like I had lived so many different versions of myself. I switched careers, lost friendships, left jobs that paid the bills, and had so many breakdowns while still having to show up for work.

Some days it’s exciting, some days it’s overwhelming, and some days I wonder if I’ve actually accomplished anything at all. But here’s the truth: If all you did last year was survive, show up, feed yourself, and keep going despite everything, you still did so much. That alone is huge and is proof of your strength.

Maybe you didn’t tick all the boxes on your January list. Maybe life went completely sideways. That doesn’t mean the year was wasted.

It just means you were growing, even when it was invisible to everyone else.

So here’s to last year, take a moment to honour it: the days you didn’t give up, the small choices you made to survive, to care for yourself, to keep showing up.

You did more than you know. And that matters.

-Golie from MANI