Life is messy. If only we knew that as teenagers, perhaps we wouldn’t have been so hard on ourselves about not knowing so many things—like what major we want, what path we wish to take, where we want to live, how we can best help make the world better, what we want to be when we get older, how much money we ‘should’ have, and all of the zillion other questions that rattle around our minds once we begin to think about how we might ‘fit’ in the world at large. 

We’ve turned the calendar page. It’s a new year, a new month, a blank slate; we begin again. We’ve been here before, yet we’ve never been here before. We’ve flipped the page, started a new something, and entered into the unknown prior to this, but it’s never been today before and never will be again. 

Deep breaths—how will you greet this day? 

It’s in a child’s eyes the first time they see Mickey Mouse. It’s in a parent’s face when they meet their new addition for the first time. It’s in the eyes of an individual when they connect with that person or animal who’s made a huge difference in their life. 

It’s arrived! That time of year where life feels like it’s full speed ahead and nonstop glitter-filled energy. The educational year is in its groove, every week there’s a game or a concert or a special event, and even taking a moment to find your own breath seemingly involves a calendar invitation. We’re officially in that final quarter of the year when resolution inklings creep in, ‘to do’ lists pile up, and many of us feel pulled in multiple directions. 

In these final months of the year, how do you tend to show up?

Growing up, I wanted to have that perfect penmanship. Taking notes in high school found me pressing hard enough with my pen to ensure I could feel the ink on the back of the paper, have evenly spaced letters and words, and quite literally rip out a page if I had to scribble out a letter. Needless to say, I had no idea then how much pressure and anxiety I caused myself in the process of seeking that perfect penmanship.