Today is my birthday!! In the spirits of stepping into each new chapter of my life with intentions, I decided to write an open letter to myself. A letter I can refer to every now and again when things get tough as they usually do because well, life!
Dear Thandiwe,
I call you vulnerable because I know, that is a word you’ll never call yourself. Instead, you’ll say “tough” “resilient” and of course “stubborn” but we all know the tougher the exterior, the more sensitive the soul is. So, today, we are going to write an article from your soul.
You did it! You’ve officially had the best year of your life and I’m incredibly proud of you. You accomplished your vision board in 2019 with all your hard work and still going strong in 2020(new home, started your own business opened a private practice in Counseling, started your blog and the list goes on).Kudos to you, I want to thank you for believing in you, for being fearless, for being a risk taker, a go getter and for all the hard work you put in everyday .You’ve been through so much pain in your three decades of life. Some self-inflicted and others, life just decided to slap you across the head. Through it all, you’ve managed to remain sturdy in your faith and the power greater than you. For the first time, you are looking back on a year and realizing how amazing it was and how far you've come. You've woken up on many May 23rds and thought to yourself, "What are you doing with your life?! You are another year older but still doing the same stupid shit." This year it's different. This year you woke up and thought, "Wow, what a year! you've changed so much and so much of it has been for the better." Looking back on the year you realize what an amazing 365 days it really was. You've changed more in the past year than you think you ever have in all of the Thirty-seven years that came before it. As you celebrate your 38th birthday you are thankful for the gift of life and for all the lessons in life which are part of your growth and made you the best version of yourself.
Life is not a straight line, there are ups and downs. A series of twists and turns, ebbs and flows, with both smooth-sailing and rough seas. Thank you for not giving up on yourself. For continuously betting on yourself through each difficulty life has brought you. This is the best chapter of your life, savor each moment.
As you are writing this article, you are smiling because you are aware that you’ve come VERY far from the shy kid people use to call lovingly “smally". The kid who has sat alone with their head buried in books for the majority of her life. The one who has never felt like she belonged. Even if you thought, you were ALWAYS fabulous, the world always reminded you that you didn’t belong. Eventually, you stopped trying because you’d realized ONLY in solitude could you have birthed this beautiful life you have created for yourself. You’ve made your parents proud.
I hope you come back and re-read this letter 5 years from now, and update me and the rest of your subscribers on how you are doing. I truly hope that by that time, you have accomplished all your dreams in this journey called life and that you have followed a path that you are proud of. Keep using that fire in you to push you forward. But more importantly, to inspire and uplift others to follow their dreams. I am rooting for you!
As I step into the next year of my life, I pray and hope to continue practicing discernment in all aspects of my life. I also want to take with me into this next year, strength to continue to live life as passionately as I could with faith and fearlessness. You know what you want. You know what you need to do. Keep doing all of the great things you've been doing, listen to yourself, and I know this year will bring you just as much happiness as the year that came before it. Here's to another great year living happily ever after now!
"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count;
it's the life in your years."
Abraham Lincoln
Love
Thandiwe #38yearsyoung
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