THANKFUL FOR MY MISTAKES

Day 354 of 365 days

I think we can all agree that 2021 was quite the year – a year full of challenges and change. One thing that remained consistent was that I still noticed wins and successes, and still made mistakes. So after this especially tough year, I’m choosing to be grateful for my mistakes and failures.

We don’t like to think about the times we’ve messed up. As teenagers, and now young adults, we’ve had a lot of them. At the time in our lives where we feel the most lost and the freest all at once, we like to hold on to the good. We emphasize and underline all the good memories because we want them to stand out, we want them to indicate that everything’s going to be alright. We want to give some sort of impression that we have our lives together.

Sometimes I wish I’d never bombed that class, or make irrational choices, or disappointed my parents over something. I’ve had my moments where I swore I’d give anything to take them back. Then I remembered that every choice I’ve ever made, good and bad, has led me to the life I have right now. Despite stress from school or other life difficulties, I’m happy. I’m grateful for everything and everyone in my life. I’m healthy, I’m young, and I have so much more ahead of me. I have a lot of time to do everything I’ve always wanted, and I have plenty of time to make more mistakes.

I no longer believe in trying to denounce any part of yourself. You are here, made of all your successes and failures; every smile, every tear, every regret and every ounce of pride. I would not be who I am today without everything I’ve ever screwed up. I’m not saying you have to like your mistakes, but be thankful for them. Be thankful for every mistake you’ve ever made and how it’s forced you to grow. Be thankful that some mistakes take a few repeats to learn the lesson. Be thankful that some burn you so bad that you learn immediately.

So I'm thankful for my mistakes. I'm grateful for everything they bring me and everywhere they take me. The good, the bad, and the truly unexpected. I'm sure they’ll make for some great stories someday.