365 days, 365 pages to write your own story each year. 365 days for your life to be constantly changing and growing. 2016 has definitely had its ups and downs, but looking back it was overall a good year. I learned a lot and 2016 was a year full of realizations.

This year I learned that hardships bring strength. Your future is not determined by your setbacks, but it's determined by how hard you rise after you fall. You should never be scared of failure because failure and mistakes teach us something.

2016 taught me all about self-love. You shouldn't have to change yourself to be accepted by people that don't even care about your well-being. You shouldn't be worried about comparing yourself to others, you have to worry about you and take care of yourself. There's a difference between selfish and knowing your worth. There's nothing wrong with doing things for yourself and putting yourself first sometimes. You have to love yourself first because nobody can love you if you don't love yourself.

I've also learned that losing friends is only apart of your journey in this crazy thing called life. It hurts to lose people because you still have all the memories, but some people just weren't meant to stay forever. Sometimes God removes those people because they don't have a role in your life where he's taking you next. They've already served their purpose in your life and although it may be hard to see now, you don't need them in your life anymore. Remember, you lose friends only to gain better ones.

This year, I've learned how to be truly happy. I've learned to stop listening to other people. I've learned to just listen to my heart and do what's best for me. I've learned that other people's opinions don't matter. I've learned to try to find the positive in every situation no matter how negative it may seem or feel. After all, you can't get positive results with a negative mindset.

Most importantly, I've learned who I am. I think finding yourself is probably one of the hardest things in life and sometimes people spend a lifetime trying to find themselves. I've learned that you can't let the judgement of other people stop you from being you. I've learned that you can't change for other people. You can't make up personality traits to please other people because at that point, you are no longer you - you are someone that everyone else wants you to be. You have to find yourself and then others will find you.

I think the best part of reflecting on the past year is seeing how everything works itself out for the best. Thinking about all my struggles and failures of the year and seeing how things turned out to be so good in the end. When it feels like you're being dealt all the bad cards and don't understand anything that's happening to you, smile and know that you're going to get through it and come out stronger than ever. You're being put to a test that you feel you can't pass but trust me, you can and you will. I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason because I experienced it first hand this year.

It's been a year for the books. 2016 has given me so much strength. It made me a new "me" and I know myself better than anyone will ever know. I've learned what true happiness is, I know that failure helps us learn, I know losing friends is a part of life, I know hard times don't last forever. Remember that you are the only one that controls your life, it's up to you. Look back at where you started at the beginning of 2016 and how far you've come. Everyone's always so worried about what tomorrow will bring or what happened yesterday, but nobody lives in the present. We have to live for today because we will never get this moment back. Be thankful for everything you have and no matter how bad your life may feel at a certain time, remember that it's someone else's dream so make the most of it. Hug all of your loved ones because you never know when you may lose them. Make everyday the best it can possibly be. Be kind to everyone and do your absolute best at everything you do.

Thank you so much 2016 for everything. 2017, I'm ready for you.