Cheers to You!

A few days ago it truly hit me that I am celebrating a huge anniversary for myself. I chose the launch date of this blog as July 9th, because it signified a day of strength for me, a day when I began a journey that has been the most unexplainable eye-opening experience I have ever been on. As the days approached faster and faster to July 9th, I began to focus less on celebrating my accomplishment and more on just finishing all of the little pieces of the blog to have it nearly perfect for the launch. But then a few nights ago, I started to really think about how far I have come in this past year as a person and I said out loud to myself that I never thought I would ever get to the point of happiness and self-confidence that I experience today. I never thought I would have the strength to walk away from a toxic relationship. But I did, and even when I did walk away, so many others, including myself, doubted that I would actually stick to my commitment and not go back to that relationship. I had envisioned this life for myself for so many years, but I never acted on my vision and I was too afraid of making the necessary changes to feel how I feel today. I was afraid of the undeniable amount of work I needed to do to love who I am. But I am so thankful, just so very thankful that I decided to walk away, put myself first and do something necessary for me. The happiest of tears came streaming down my face because for the first time I realized just how proud I was of who I have become and how hard I have worked to become her.

The past year has been filled with heartache, exploration and growth. A lot of times I reflect on where I was just one year ago and how I allowed myself to be broken down and emotionally abused in a way that made me feel like I had no purpose on this earth. I needed to be told that I was pretty, that I was skinny and that I was good enough. When I looked in the mirror, I saw nothing but ugliness on the outside, and insignificance on the inside.

However with time, came growth and for me that was and is a cause to be celebrated. I think it is so important to celebrate our achievements, even when they seem small.  Today and every day I want to remember to celebrate me, for not only walking away and not going back, but for being strong enough to find the desire and confidence within myself to admit my struggles with my mental health, grow in my self-esteem and learn to love myself. Celebrating what you have gone through and how much you have grown allows you to give yourself the recognition that you need to continue to move forward. I encourage you to look back on the times when you thought you never could accomplish your goals, and look where you are now and reward yourself for all you have accomplished. You may still have a long way to go to accomplish those goals, but you are farther than you were yesterday, and that in itself, is a success to be celebrated.

Today, I celebrate me. I am saying “Cheers to One Year, Cheers to Me”, because I looked impossible in the face and created my own sense of possible. I created a space for me to grow and flourish in a way that I never thought was possible before. I have grown in a way that I can challenge myself, provide myself with validation of my existence and my beauty, and love myself with all of my flaws and quirks.

Remember today to cheers to you, you are doing a great job working to be a better, improved you. You are going to experience mistakes and set backs, but if you continue to celebrate your achievements and your little wins, you will continue to push yourself to succeed. Undoubtedly, there have been so many days when you felt like giving up, but you fought on anyway, you continued on, grew, and learned from your mistakes and failures. So remember to cheers to you every single day, because no matter how bad today may be, you are stronger and wiser than yesterday and just realizing how far you have come is an amazing feeling. Pause right now in whatever you are doing and reflect on your growth. Where were you on July 16, 2017? Were you in a situation where you felt hopeless, lost, or down? Now look at yourself today in this very moment. Maybe you still feel hopeless, lost and down and that is okay but reflect on your growth, give yourself credit for every milestone you have acheived along the way. Celebrate the little wins: you got out of bed today, you took time to meditate or exercise in order to clear your head, you stood up for yourself, you put yourself first, you ate a healthy meal, or maybe you avoided drunk texting your ex, whatever it is, be proud of you, because you are a stronger person now than you were a year later, you are stronger even just a day later, because you pushed yourself to continue to fight to be a better you, even if you didn’t consciously realize that was what you were doing.

Be proud of what you have accomplished and continue to fight every day to be the very you that you imagine. Sometimes who we want to be seems impossible, but with hard work, dedication and a lot of self-love, you, my beautiful friend, are capable of more than you know.

Sit back and reflect on how far you have come, write it down or talk it out but just tell yourself how proud you are for simply being you and growing every day. I know being proud of me has helped me today to feel even more beautiful and excited for the future. Today and every day, I cheers to me, but I also cheers to you, I am rooting for you. Go be beautifully simply you.

With so much love,

Ivy