One Little Word // Embrace

{Patrick on the lookout for adventuuure!}

Starting anew isn't hard. New years, new notebooks, new planners, new friendships? Love those. Great at those. Starting again? Starting again is hard for me. It's like running into a middle school acquaintance you aren't sure if you should acknowledge or not. It's been a long while, you aren't sure if they remember you, and even if they do, what do you say about the large amount of time that has passed?

The last post on this blog was July 25, 2015. That's a year and a half ago. That's 527 days. That's a long time.

I always get stuck on whether or how to explain my absence. It wasn't intentional, but I think it was necessary. Eventually I'll get around to recapping individual events, but not today.

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My One Little Word for 2015 was "fearless"; this year, I've chosen "embrace" as a concept to focus on throughout 2017.

I'm not a big hugger. So "embrace" doesn't mean I plan on going around enveloping friends and strangers left and right. But it does mean that I want to embrace opportunities, challenges, adventures, friendships, and my own quirks.

To give a quick overview of this upcoming year, January to the end of April will be spent finishing the classroom portion of my graduate program. From late May to mid-December, I will be completing two three-month fieldwork placements. Besides that week or two in early May, my entire calendar is already scheduled and my time accounted for. It's kind of hard to make big plans and grand resolutions when I know what my year looks like-- homework, projects, and unpaid 40 hour work weeks.

In spite of or perhaps due to the fact that everything has already been scripted out for me, I want to keep the following things in mind as the year progresses:

+ Embrace opportunities. // I know I've been given a great opportunity to study occupational therapy and that it wouldn't be possible without a lot of parental assistance, both logistically and financially. But sometimes I forget to be grateful when stressed or frustrated or tired. I need to work on being more thankful for what I have, as well as looking for chances to make professional connections that may be useful in the future.

+ Embrace challenges. // This would be where I say something like, "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger," or "I need to step out of my comfort zone." The former of which is a saying that bugs me (there are plenty of things that won't kill you, but leave you weaker), but the latter is definitely true. I need to remember that challenges and other achievable things that cause me apprehension are things from which I can learn and grow.

+ Embrace adventure. // Even though pretty much all my weekdays are spoken for in 2017, I want to still go outside and enjoy non-school-related things from time to time. So I'm penciling in hikes with the pupper and padre, weekend hangouts with coworkers, and maybe a solo trip to visit friends living out-of-state. Adventure doesn't even need to be a "me physically going somewhere new" thing; it's a mindset and I hope to revel in it this upcoming year.

+ Embrace friendships. // I'm not the best at keeping in touch with my friends, unless I can see them face to face. Oh, I'm decently informed about what's happening in their lives, thanks to Facebook and Instagram, but I rarely am the first to reach out and schedule meet-ups. This year, I want to get a little better at that. I still can't promise I'll respond asap to text messages, but I hope to send out more letters and cards, since snail mail is more my style. If you'd like a note or two, make sure I have your address, please! (:

+ Embrace my own quirks. // In 2015, I wanted to be more "fearless"; only problem is, I'm not that by any definition of the word. I'm a naturally cautious person, a practical/logistics person, a planner. I have my moments of "let's do this random spontaneous act that's mildly reckless to the rest of the world, but oh so daring to me," but they're few and far between. This year, I'm vowing to be more accepting of all facets of my personality and not apologize for or try to change them. Self-confidence. I'll be working on that.

I'm excited to see what this year has in store for us all. It's bound to be interesting at least. Here's to a 2017 where there's more good than bad and more love than hate. <3