After Christmas each year, many people become slightly depressed from the end of the holiday buildup and the normalcy that ensues with the return to their usual routines in the cold, dreary month of January.
I, however, look forward to this time because it is the start of a new year, a time of new beginnings, opportunities, milestones and a slight excitement but also apprehension toward the unpredictability of life moving forward. I begin 2016 with a bittersweet announcement as this is my last My Life column.
As I start this next decade of my life, I am so thankful for the opportunity to have written for the paper all these years. I am also grateful that I have documentation of this time in my life.
I hope one day to be able to show my children – and maybe even grandchildren – the insights, struggles and celebrations I experienced during this time. Perhaps they will be able to relate. I have always been nostalgic, so it will be interesting to look back and reflect on these years, to see how things have changed or stayed the same.
I am also appreciative that my articles have provided an outlet for self-expression and reflection. I have learned through the years of writing articles that, as much as we want to plan and have control over our own lives, sometimes things happen beyond our control.