Y'all Have to Stop Slandering 2016 Like This
Every person, magazine, twitter account, instagram and of course blog has a yearly wrap up and so far all seem to be portraying 2016 as this dark hole of despair. But 2016 was great to me because it was a teacher, a growth chamber and a place for me to truly come into my own.
I started 2016 full of intentions and goals I wanted to achieve. I made my vision board and set about the year with a fire under my ass. I knew that to achieve some of the goals on my list I'd have to put myself in some uncomfortable places and nothing was more uncomfortable than my nearly 6 months of unemployment this year, however I can truly say I came out of it the Zina I was destined to be.
Leaving my job was on my vision board so quitting didn't hurt. In fact it was incredibly freeing. Besides looking for a job, I felt lighter than I had in years. Moreover it gave me time to start passion projects and work on other goals from my list. I can truly say that heading into 2017, I have achieved 90% of the goals I set out to achieve in the beginning of the year. I didn't clear 100 but I did much better than I would have had I not WRITTEN SHIT DOWN and actively pursued it.
Besides achieving personal goals, this year was dope because of experiences. I'm definitely the girl that focuses on experiences rather than things even though I have quite a bit of material things as well. At the tail end of 2015, my first and still only godchild was born, and this year I got to visit her twice even though she lives in New Jersey. I got to see Beyoncé for the third time and with more people than I've ever gone to a concert with. I went on a trip to a place I've never been (Boston) with my squad. I moved to Nassau (something I've wanted to do since I graduated undergrad). I'm living alone for the first time in The Bahamas. I did a birthday photo shoot for my quarter century birthday - something that I'm going to make a birthday tradition. I've contributed to at least 3 other blogs beside my own. I've really began to cultivate my tribe - even though I now need a second one living in Nassau. And I've met people that have caused me to have great experiences.
2016 was by far one of the greatest years in my adult life. Yea some sucky shit happened, but pain is one of the ways you know you're alive. I came out on top in many ways. I'm stepping into my own. And I think 2017 is going to be even more lit than 2016 was. And yes I'm bringing the word lit into 2017 with me.
