empathy

Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before A New Year Arrived

Photography by Kristen Hatgi Sink

People underestimate what a whole goddamn year can do.

You don’t have to look that far back, try to remember how you were this day, today, last year. And ask yourself a whole lot of questions:
Was this year like you thought it would turn out to be?
What happened? Did that change you?
In a good or a bad way?
Is that really what you want to carry into the next year?
Celebrating doesn’t mean just thinking of the good things, but think, really, about the things that went horribly wrong this year.
What went wrong?
Why did it went wrong?
Is it irreversible?
Do you want it back?
Why?

Know yourself a little bit better than you did last year.
Doesn’t matter that now you’re sitting alone and reading this, and you don’t have your best friends with you anymore. FORGET IT. You’ll find new people. Yes, you will.
Forget how your lover left you to hold another’s heart,
Did that change you?
Should that change you?
Are you making the same mistakes like before?
Are you? Why? Don’t. Don’t fix it if you didn’t break it. You are intact. Yes, you are. Don’t break for someone who won’t even look to see how you’re doing. Build yourself up so strong that they look at you with O shaped lips.Look around.
Come on, look around.
Do you want to live like this?
Do you want to live here?
Look outside the room’s window, or outside the window of the vehicle you’re sitting in, look out.
It looks the same like it did last year, doesn’t it? Don’t sigh. It’s not. It’s the same scene.
But it’s all different. Everything is different than before!
Don’t forget how you got here.
Don’t look down and keep bumping into the same people all your life, look up, darling.
There are so many others who are waiting for someone like you.
Are you ready?Do you remember when last year you thought you wouldn’t need anything anymore and everything was perfect, but it all went to hell?
And you thought the pain would never end and this was one of the worst years of your life?
Look outside, dear.
Even if it looks different, it’s not.
And next year is coming, are you ready?
The past is the past, you know.
Look back to see how much you deserve happiness. And then go get it. Do you want it? Do you want the happiness seeping in your bones? You can have it. Yes, you can.
Are you brave enough to ask for it? You gotta make it yourself, darling. And you can.
You don’t need to be anything else,
you don’t need to be alone,
you don’t need the ones who made you cry to make you happy again,
you don’t need them to sing you songs to make you happy! You’re enough. Yes, you are. Look how complete you are. It’s okay. I don’t know you, but I know you’re so complete. I can feel it in your eyes as you read this. I’m smiling warmly right at you. Smile! You’re so beautiful/ handsome, my god.Look up to the sky!
Look!
It’s a new year!
It’s going to feel like it’s the same song playing but I can PROMISE you it isn’t.
Decide to be happy.
Decide.
Promise that you’ll try to be as happy as you can possible be.
Promise that you’ll tell people you love them, more times than is necessary. God knows everyone wants to hear it millions of times! They’ll say it back! They’ll say it back a million times! Promise that you won’t be afraid of crying,
promise you’ll rely on yourself.
Promise you’ll never regret anything that caused you pain. Promise that you’ll admit your mistakes.
Promise that you won’t break your own heart. Even if you do, promise that you won’t blame and hurt other people. Nobody deserves that.Look forward to yourself, darling.
Look forward to the next year!
And don’t forget to hope. It’ll keep you warm when days are cold and gloomy and lonely.
And if you’ll lose it all by mistake or you’ve run out of it, remember this:
Have you? As long as there is a sun shining at your window and a moon following your car at night, you can also live for better days.Just look forward, darling. Look forward to your life! It’s the only one you’ll get as you! Live for yourself! It’s a new year!

Submitted to ArtParasites by Oshin Ahlawat

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