by Lexie von Zedlitz

With 2017 finally coming to a close, we have only a few weeks left to pull our lives together before midterms, brace ourselves for the familial stress of the holidays, and make any last-ditch efforts to wrap up the goals we set around this time last year. A new year brings with it fresh starts and endless possibilities, but in a time that’s so focused on what’s to come, it’s worth reflecting on the growth and lessons learned form the year that’s passed.

In January of 2017, there was an air of relief following the new year. 2016— a dark point in everyone’s lives— was over, and we were all free to bask in the realm of possibility that comes with each new year. The next twelve months were open to be anything we made of them; and whether they be spent pretending to use a discounted gym membership or accepting that you were meant to binge-watch Riverdale in your sweatpants was up to you. And so we set out with high hopes and steep expectations to make this year the best one yet.

11 months later we’re all a little weathered and beaten down. Friendships fizzled out and tests were failed. But in all of that there was change. No one is the same person they were at the beginning of the year, and in my opinion I think that’s for the best. Because with change comes growth, and we all move a little closer to figuring out who we are and want to be in this world. In a year you can go from feeling like you have your life together, to getting lost in uncertainty, to finding yourself all over again. 2017 was a year of struggle, but also one of resilience. We discovered parts of ourselves that we never knew before, and in a few short weeks I can’t wait to do it all over again.