To you, my dear readerㅡI want to congratulate you for being a dauntless warrior and real survivor of the previous year. You’ve made it, dear! I know, 2022 had been a tough one and perhaps, it had given you reasons to give everything up. But you, as a genuine soldier of the preceding year, had chosen to strive harder and keep your track.

Of course, you had a trip-down-to-memory-lane before you finally put down the book of 2022, and told yourself,

“There are friends that suddenly became strangers”

and it makes you feel so down. But let me tell you this: if ever someone had left you hanging last year (whether it is a friend or a partner), never be sorry for yourself. People leave when it is time for them to leave. It wasn’t the ending of everything yet. That was just the real inception of your own journey. While they are walking away from your life, the memories they had left will still remain. It might make you cry, sometimes. But surely, it had given you lessons to ponder.

I’m sure that some of the persons you had known had also made mistakes. If that’s the case, this year, learn and try to forgive. Set free the grudges that are still trapped within your chest. That will just tear your heart down. I won’t ask you to forget what they had done, because I am an ardent believer that there are three things that a person will never ever forget;

1. The happiest moments in life
2. The saddest ones
3. The mistakes done by the people they once trust.

Try to bestow them your forgiveness little by little. You’ll seeㅡit’ll make you happy. Maybe, not in an instant, but eventually.

Make these things your New Year’s Resolutions: leave the past behind you. Meet new people. Make more friends and create new memories with them. Hold your phone, not to just use your social media sites while you are with them. Take your phone with you, look for the Camera app, and capture the moments that you want to stay not just inside your mind, but right before your eyes. Smile whenever you look at those smiles being placed on the photo. But I also know that there are persons within some photographs that you don’t wanna see anymore. Try to remember the euphoric feeling, not the persons on it. They had also brought you happiness, right? As Wendelin Van Draanen said,

“You have to look at the whole landscape.”

Focus on the whole photo, not just on a certain part of it.

Take risks. Do the things that you want to do. Face your fears and conquer it. Pick up new books and read. Travel to know yourself more. Fall in love, but make sure to love yourself first. It’s all fine to have your heart brokenㅡthat’s part of our lives. It’s okay to be sadㅡwith that you’ll know what happiness feels like after that phase.

Most importantly, smile often.

Embrace this new year with full positivity and bravery. Look at the mirror and say,

“This year, I’ll give more time to myself. I’ll put myself on the top of my list.”

This year will make you a better one. Claim it, dear.