2016....WHAT A YEAR!!!!!

If someone would've given me "chapter 2016" of my life and told me to read it, I probably wouldn't have

believed half of the things written in it but that's the beautiful thing about life,we don't get the preview, all we get is to experience it as it happens. As 2016 draws to an end, I can't help but be grateful for

EVERYTHING that has taken place. While many have been humbled by 2016, I can't help but think of all the lessons and blessings that 2016 has brought in my life. I remember how every morning in the mist of the turmoil I was going through in 2015, my last prayer request was an affirmation that 2016 WAS MY YEAR and boy has it been! With that being said so allow me to unpack the lessons that 2016 has "broken and molded"

             

                    2016 TAUGHT ME TO........

 BE OPEN TO CHANGE
Now as much as I say 2016 was MY YEAR, I can't imagine how different this year might have been had my wish to further my studies been successful. The plan was to GET MY BACHELORS DEGREE (which I did BY THE GRACE OF GOD) and continue to do my HONOURS. The funny thing about this life thing is that we have no control over it which is why God continues to say "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you" [Jer 29:11]. Now you can imagine my surprise when

things didn't go my way and I had to move back home (something I vowed NEVER TO DO). I felt like a failure because here I was, with my qualification but no job, no studying and back home while my friends were preparing to do their honours. Now being the busy body that I am, I literally had a week before  I was out looking for something to keep me busy. It was only by His grace that I landed an internship at one of the biggest community radio stations in the province but again,just because it wasn't my initial plan doesn't mean I shouldn't be open to it. The point of this is to simply say that life isn't a simple step by step guide,speed bumps are inevitable but that doesn't mean you have to be at a standstill, who knows where the road may take you.

EVERYONE YOU MEET HAS A LESSON TO TEACH

So here I am, content producing a breakfast show, totally out of my element but hey I'm here to learn right. Another lesson which 2016 has taught me is that lessons aren't found in self help books but rather the people we meet everyday. They may be co-workers or just someone you met in the taxi, what matters isn't how you've met but the lesson their little interaction left. In the field I have been blessed to be in, I have the privilege of meeting alot of people from different walks of life from your Mam' Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Connie Ferguson to even the young pageant ladies and women who want to share their story about living with HIV/Aids. The stories they carry have so much weight that one cannot fit them into a blog post but one thing is for sure, the lessons they have taught me have truly shaped the woman I have become today so pay attention to the stories people share, there is a lesson in every story.

GUARD YOUR SPACE

Man 2016 has shown me the importance of guarding your space. In our day and age, we often look for people to fill us up forgetting that what we don't heal in solitude, we will carry in every relationship. I say this to reiterate the ever changing social circles that we go through cause after a while one has to realize that the people you are with today aren't going to be the same people you are are going to be with 10 years from now and THAT's OKAY. One of the hardest lessons is letting go of friendships that don't grow you because no one talks about cultivating your circle and the pain it includes but hey I'd rather have 3 meaningful friends that 100 acquaintances.

TINKER WITH ISH.
I can truly say I have officially been out of my depth this year, now I say this with gratitude but hai maan sometimes comfort is just to nice. Though I may have moved back home, I have had a couple of experiences that will definitely go down memory lane. With that being said, 2016 has taught me to just EXPLORE, it's easy to look at Instagram and wish you were exploring the world like other insta peeps but nothing is stopping you from doing the same so I DEDICATE 2017/18 to just TINKER WITH ISH. Try different things because life isn't meant to be lived in the 3rd row of the rollercoaster but in the 1st row where all the action is.

With all that has been said, I just want to say 2016, THANK YOU for the lessons and experiences.
2017, WASSUP?!!!