Category: Uncategorized

Few out of character things that I did in 2016:

-went to a music festival by myself and made tons of new friends at my camp
-got another tattoo
-jumped out of an airplane at 13,000 ft
-pierced my nipple
-gave a 15 min presentation alone in front of the whole class on what I want to do after school which entailed me opening up about my social anxiety
-gave an hour and 20 minute long presentation with 3 other people in the same class
-went from having been with 7 people to 13 (basically my confidence went up and I wasn’t as afraid of trying out new things)
-lost 15 lbs just by cutting fast food out of my diet
-started working for a new family in a foreign place and fell in love with their two little girls
-dyed my hair violet
-sang in front of strangers
-didn’t see any of my family or SoCal friends for 4 months (usually I would travel back home to see them every couple of months) and was more than okay with it
-turned 24 years old, despite the fact that I could never imagine my life past 23 growing up
-actually DANCED at the bars (even if it was only for a few minutes) no one knows this but dancing in public is for sure my #1 fear
-kissed lots and lots and LOTS of beautiful people
-this was the first year in probably my entire life that I’ve been able to show pieces of my true self to people without being afraid
-went parasailing for the first time
-camped a bunch
-changed my style to include tighter clothing cause I was always too shy to show off the shape of my body
-lots and lots of road trips with new friends
-this kind of goes with the other ones but I became much more comfortable with seeing myself in the nude, and being nude in general
-planned a trip to meet my dad when I graduate
-taught myself how to play (some) guitar
-stepped out of my comfort zone in a new way literally every single day

This past year was really my year of expanding, experiencing, learning, and growing. 2015 was all about healing old wounds and moving forward, but a lot of the work I did required me to be alone. Tons of self-reflection was done and I was able to build some of my confidence back up from the inside out. But 2016 was different because I wasn’t alone. I expanded my social circle and was totally okay with letting people in when I am normally used to leaving my walls up and keeping friendships at surface level. I’m also okay with making small talk and interacting with strangers now. I can walk around in a public setting and realize that people really aren’t as scary as I once made them out to be. It’s been a really beautiful, crazy, tumultuous ride taking so many risks but so so worth it. I’m ready to see what 2017 will bring for me. I know it’ll most definitely continue getting better from here.