Happy New Year!!  Grateful to put 2021 behind us.  Our country alone has seen so much pain in 2021:  politically, financial hardships, inflation, and loss of unity.   If I could wave a magic wand,  I would change the outlook on people with differences.  To embrace, rather than cancel.  To love, rather than hate.  It is my hope that we as a nation may walk into 2022 with hope, grace, faith, humility, and open-mindedness.

Life is good today.   My father and I were talking about the successes from channeling my inner-Dave-Ramsey & he mentioned feeling proud of me. In 2021, I paid off two iPhones, one Ipad, and $27k in debt.  Insane! In 2022, planning to pay off the car by May 1st.   I sat there for a moment and reflected on life in July 2000, one month sober, disowned by my father, thinking, “I am so f’d”.   23 years old, broke, alone, and terrified of living life sober.  At one time in my life, I lived on people’s couches & felt so alone around a crowd of people.  Fast forward 21 years.  This life looks so different today.  From improving family relationships to building a career in a field I love, to owning my home and planning for retirement.

What are you striving for in 2022?  My hope for 2022 is to approach each day with gratitude and positivity, to seek God’s will in my life, and to find a place for myself in this recovery community.   To spend more time with my aging parents.  To heal from my military journey as the VA recently awarded me compensation for PTSD & an injury.  My anxiety has increased a lot when I am around people.  To become financially independent.  Enrolled in grad school.  Celebrating 15 years working in my field.  Building a business, possibly creating a nonprofit.

I plan to stay in tomorrow for New Year’s Eve and take this time for reflection and quality time spent with my husband.  Looking forward to trudging this road to happy destiny.  If you are a person in recovery, feel free to reach out below for links to attend online support groups.  Feel free to comment below about your hopes and dreams for 2022 or share what you are happy to leave behind in 2021 below or on Twitter.  Happy holidays!

To learn more about what 2021 had to offer, visit here.