NEW YEAR MUSINGS.

I used to spend a lot of time thinking about (read: internally debating and waffling over) my word for the year. And for a long, long time, words of the year served me really well. In the beginning of the year, it was a way to hold onto hope for what was to come. In the middle of the year, the word served as a reminder to keep going. And at the end of the year, the word served as a moment of reflection of all that happened. 

But things have changed since then - my faith is much different. My relationship with journaling and internally processing has also changed. What used to be such fundamental parts of my life have now become lesser so. I used to journal daily, but now I don't. In fact, this blog is my only up-to-date journal now. I used to find myself internally processing and thinking about everything, so journaling was my way to process. While I'm still an internal processer, I now find myself verbally processing these thoughts with my fiancé, friends, and family. 

That said, my desire to pick a word of the year has dwindled over the past year or so. Am I sad about it ending? Yes and no. Having words of the year served me SO well. I started picking a word of the year back in 2013 and finished in 2023. That's ten years (see all words here). When I look back, I see the growth I made each year but now, I also see a young person who was discovering herself, too. And now I still see myself as a young-ish person who is continuing to discover herself and the world around her, but in different (new) ways.

Last year honestly felt like a good year to end it this chapter/season in life - I wasn't really feeling it and you may have noticed (or maybe you remember?) that I really struggled to pick a word for the year. And to be completely honest, I don't even remember what I picked. So when November and December rolled by, I found myself lacking the interest to keep going. There weren't any words that were jumping out to me and while I contemplated picking something just to keep the ball rolling, I also didn't want to do it if my heart wasn't in it. 

So yes, I'm okay with not picking a word - and I'm okay with living day by day, and just letting things be. I'm still very excited for what's to come and I'm excited to see how 2024 unfolds, but I'm letting it just be. 

Cheers to 2024 - and I'm curious, do you pick a word of the year?