“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
2016 you have been one hellacious year. Let’s be real, the people have voted you off and we’re anxiously awaiting your replacement, 2017. We’re ready to tell you by and say hello to 2017. Out with the old and in with new! You get it friend? Personally, this year for me has been filled with many trials and tribulations. But I wasn’t the only one affected by you. You took out many amazing entertainment personalities that will forever live on in our hearts. Thank you to David Bowie, Prince, Carrie Fisher, Doris Roberts, Florence Henderson, George Michael, Muhammad Ali, Gene Wilder, Alan Rickman, Glen Frey, Harper Lee and too many others to list for all that you contributed to our lives. You brought with you Brexit, President-elect Trump, Russian hackers, the Brazilian football team Chapecoense Real plane crash, the death of Harambe the gorilla, multiple terrorist attacks both domestic and foreign, the conflict in Syria, exploding Galaxy Note phones, and exploding hover boards I guess you weren’t all bad though with the release of the new Beyonce and Bruno Mars albums, Adele’s concert tours, new chemotherapy breakthroughs in the fight against cancer, a decrease in child mortality, donations from the ice bucket challenge funding a potential ASL breakthrough, the iPhone 7, some would say Pokemon Go, and the release of two Star Wars movies. Personally though I took a big hit. I lost two important people in my life including my granddaddy. But here are sixteen things that I’m taking away from 2016 1. Life goes on after a death. I lost my granddaddy in 2016. He was my surrogate dad. He was always there for me. He was one of my biggest fans. I was devastated when he passed. I didn’t even want to go back to London and once there, often times I just wanted to come home. But through the adventures in London and calling my mom crying because of something that reminded me of my granddaddy or something I remembered he would never get to do again, I learned that life goes on. Life didn’t just stop to mourn his death, no it just kept going on. Even though I’m going to miss him dearly, it’s time for new traditions and new adventures. His legacy and memories will always live on. 2. Life goes on after a break up. After a long ten months of on again and off again confusion, a story finally came to an end. After getting back together for the umpteenth time and finally thinking it was perfect and it was going to work out, it didn’t. After no contact for over a month and being told through the grapevine he had another girlfriend, it was official. Though no words were spoken between either party, it had come to an end. Following the breakup I focused all of my attention on my granddaddy’s failing health, my two summer jobs, and on me. I learned life goes on after a breakup and what really matters is how you handle it afterwards. I came out better and happier than I was going into it. Often times I have to thank my ex for pushing me to become this better version of myself. I will never have hard feelings about the whole situation and I will always wish happiness his way. He’s a smart kid and I know one day he’ll make a difference in this world. 3. I can be independent. While being in London I learned to be independent. My internship required me to be independent. I had to ride the tube to and from Acton Town twice a week. An hour and half round trip when the tubes were working and on time gave me the confidence to explore other parts of London by myself. When I needed to go somewhere or wanted to go somewhere but couldn’t find someone to go with me I learned that I could do it all by myself. 4. I learned to be happy with myself. During the summer amongst all that was going on and all the tears that were being shed from everything going on, I learned at the end of the day the only person who is going to make me happy at this time in my life is me. I learned to work on myself and love myself. I learned to become happy with the person I was becoming. Now writing this or you reading this, I’ve never been happier and prouder of myself. I am happy with myself. 5. I can navigate a large foreign city by myself. Citymapper became my best friend in London! If you’ve ever traveled to a huge daunting city it can be pretty scary. It’s one thing to drive in Dallas or Atlanta traffic but it’s another thing to be a pedestrian in a huge city where you’re fighting for room to walk on the pavement (sidewalk) and keep up with the pace or squeeze yourself on the tube (basically a subway) during rush hour or find a place to stand or sit on a bus. Not only this but if you’re a pedestrian you can’t find street signs, cars are coming from opposite directions and black cabs love to use their horns at you. After being in London I can proudly say I learned how to navigate a large foreign city or at least survive it by myself. 6. British people are nice. Contrary to popular belief British people are quite nice. The only difference is they love to use the f word and they don’t have the same southern hospitality manners I am accustomed to. They don’t care about your cat Lulu and the cashier doesn’t care to know your life story. They’re just people who keep to themselves, which I actually like - though if you’re lucky then you’ll meet an amazing Brit who you can call you’re best friend. Finn and I battled walking through streets at rush hour and survived political talk about Brexit and American politics and also walking outside of zone 2 and figuring out how to get back to Kings Cross at night. And if you’re super lucky they’ll have a Christmas sweater that lights up! So don’t be scared to meet British people or Londoners, they’re pretty rad. 7. I learned working in retail positions is difficult and the public can be challenging. The summer of 2016 I had two awesome job opportunities. I was able to work at a local bakery and shoe store. Some days I would work from seven in the morning to eight at night. Both jobs required working with the public and I quickly learned that the public can be very cruel and at the end of the day the customer really is always right, no ifs ands or buts. Just accept it. Somehow though I managed to keep a smile on my face and I really grew to understand and respect those who work minimum wage jobs full time. 8. I learned that I can lose weight when I set my mind to it. If you know me then you know I’ve always battled with my weight. I was always the chunkiest in my dance classes and often times the chunkiest of my friends. I went through times when I would not eat anything or I would eat everything in site. This summer I discovered that with a lot of will power, a good eating plan, and the help from a Fitbit, it is possible to lose weight. Since June of 2016 I’ve lost about fifty pounds and I still have a ways to go but it truly is possible to lose weight in a healthy way, which is something I’ve always struggled with. 9. I learned to live on a budget. Because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to work while in London, I knew my only source of money was going to be from the two jobs I worked this summer. At the end of the summer I took stock of how much money I had and figured out how much money I could spend each week. From that I learned unexpected costs will always come up so beware or you may have to phone home. But, for the most part, I truly did survive on my summer earnings due to careful budgeting and a few sacrifices! 10. I learned I don’t need my phone 24/7. This one is self explanatory. While in London I put my phone down and picked up a book. I now detest using my phone and driving (public transportation has my heart). 11. It’s difficult to change people’s opinion especially when it comes to politics. Even though the Republicans had a horrible candidate that was racist, a liar, sexist, uncouth and downright unfit to be president, they still supported him and elected him president just because he claimed to be Republican (even though Hillary won the popular vote and the electoral college vote is outdated). It was impossible to change their mind and convince them to vote for anyone other than their party addiction. 12. I learned that racism still exists on a pretty big level in the US even though many of you strongly disagree. Walk in a person of color’s shoes for a few days and you may change your mind and see all the subtle and not so subtle racism that you believe doesn't exist. 13. I learned that racist behavior is not new even though it seems many people believe it is. Racism has been alive since the dawn of time and I can only hope that one day it will cease to exist. During this election though, I learned just how naive people are. We mistakenly believed that the race issue was getting better but then we got a presidential candidate that pretty much made blatant racism a thing again. We see more racist behavior or choose not to see it in the media because we now have cell phones that can record everything that has always been happening. This racism has always been here but no one had proof of it until now. It’s no longer he said she said. It’s all out there for the world to witness now. 14. I learned when you fall in mud just roll with it and you’ll later laugh at the memory. While in Scotland feeding and petting reindeer, I took a nasty fall into very cold mud that probably had reindeer poop in it. I cried and was so embarrassed when it happened but now I look back and laugh. Shout out to Anna for helping me and to Quinn and Kat for making memes. It actually hurts that I don’t have a glorious photo of me covered in mud and poop. When you fall in life just roll with it, make a meme, and shake it off 15. I learned I love veggie burgers. Don’t knock’em till you’ve tried them. No seriously I challenge you to try a veggie burger in this new year. I found that veggie burgers are often times better than the real thing. They’re also much healthier. 16. I learned how to cook British food. With the help of my phenomenal internship and some amazing students, I learned how to cook traditional British food. Though many people find it bland, I actually really enjoyed it. Don’t ask me how many cookbooks I came home with. And one to grow on - after a beautiful explosion, light and beauty always follow the darkness. Tonight fireworks will explode and bottles will be opened and kisses will be shared and after all of this a new year begins. I learned that light and beauty always follow after darkness and an explosion. Here’s to hoping 2017 is filled with beauty and light.
XOXO, A gearle who now knows sixteen more things.
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Abby & AndreaA college student trying to figure out the world with her mom by herside. Life through my lens (Abby). We all have different stories and these are only some of mine. Some funny, some adventurous, some hard. Sit back and relax. Enjoy. Archives
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