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Happy New Year!

Today I decided that 2017 was the best year of my life. (It's not what you think.) I didn't get engaged, married, or pregnant. I didn't land my dream job, buy a house, have a baby, or travel the world. On February 19, I suffered a concussion. (I said it was the best year, I didn't say it was the easiest.)

Unfortunately, my recovery has been painfully slow and it's far from over. My definition of a concussion: the worst hangover you've ever had mixed with some dizziness, vertigo, insomnia, balance issues, severe neck and shoulder pain, blurred vision, and migraines. It's awful. There have been periods in the last ten months where the pain was so terrible that I just wanted to die. It felt like my only option.

Spoiler alert: I'm still alive. The shocking thing, however, is that I have still managed to have some of the best and happiest moments of my life. How? First off, I really need to thank my family and friends for taking care of me and for loving me when I was my worst self. Guys!!! Love is so so so powerful! I also started to consciously put a daily limit on my self-pity. I got the idea from a book I read years and years ago called "Tuesdays with Morrie." In the memoir, Mitch Albom, the author, is interviewing his old college professor, Morrie, who is battling ALS. Morrie felt that there was nothing wrong with a few minutes of tears, but that it was useful to stop and move on with the day. I worked on changing my perspective, being present, and living in the moment. Slowly, I started to realize that there was an upside to all the pain; I started to appreciate all of the wonderful (ordinary) things that I took for granted when I was healthy. I look at life differently now. I'm working on worrying less about what I can't control. I look for happiness in what I have. I'm just so grateful.

So cheers to 2017! It was the most difficult year of my life, but it made me who I am today and I really like the person that I've become.

Happy New Year!

(I'm sorry for the spelling and grammatical errors. I have a mild traumatic brain injury and couldn't find an editor on short notice.)

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