Every year, at the end of the year, I see artists drawing funny or inspirational comics about kicking that year's ass. The harder the year, the bigger a beat down it gets before we dump it in the trash and move on to the next year, at the ready.

And while I think that's definitely a great way of coming at the new year, this year I wanted to do something different. Because if we pretend that we just dump the previous year and move on, we're doing ourselves a huge disservice. That year, it's ups and downs, failures and successes, doesn't just vanish. It stays with us, whether we want it to or not and I think it's worth honoring that.

For me, 2013 was the hardest year of my life. Things that happened in that year continued to taint and effect years to come. And although this year has been hard, seemingly across the globe, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't somehow also the best year I've had. I did so much, explored so much, learned so much, and grew as a person so, so much. It didn't just happen either. I worked for it, pushed for it, and continuously strive to overcome, and cope with, the things I can't change.

I can't, and won't, pretend that the horror that was 2013 won't be with me for the rest of my life, but so will every great thing that happened this year. I'm glad I didn't give up when it felt like that was all I could do.

I stopped making resolutions a long time ago. All I promise myself now is to try as hard as I can.

Happy New Year, everyone! <3