Dear 2015,

You have been the toughest year of my entire of my life… and yet, I kicked your ass! You tried to knock me down, to bury me deep in a mess, and all it did was make me prove to you and myself that I was capable of climbing out. You took my partner and I down dark and dangerous paths, often leaving us flirting with hopelessness and lack of direction but we came out the other side stronger than before. Worst of all, 2015, you took away all that I held familiar and forced me to really look at what makes me who I am. With little material possessions, no ability to work as a therapist, and hardly a penny to my name to change anything, all I could do was run. So I pulled out very old running shoes that still stink from the house fire two years ago and I ran.

And it changed my life. You taught me how little I need to survive. Just some vegetables, fruit, rice, dried beans, my husband and my dog. For seven months, I didn’t have kitchen cabinets, a kitchen sink, or flooring, but it didn’t stop us. We persevered and made the best with what we had each day.

So thank you for being such a jerk 2015 and trying your hardest to shake me to the core. It worked. And I am a much stronger, more determined version of myself going into 2016.