This Is How You Start Off 2018 The Right Way

If I could nicely describe myself and how I’ve been over the last month, no wait the last year, it’d be ‘a fucking mess.’ And that’s not me being harsh on myself, that’s just an accurate description. This last month has been probably the worst of 2017 and I have not made it easier on myself. I’ve been trying to drown myself in alcohol, men, things and expensively irresponsible life decisions.

I am a disaster.

Still, despite all of this, I am lucky to be blessed with some of the most amazing friends. Friends who are there for you no matter what. The kind of friends that support you but wince while trying to talk you out of giving that man at the bar your number.

Those friends are the ones worth celebrating in 2017. I know 2017’s been a shit show for quite a few of us. Why? Because everyone did some growing up this year. Think about it. You grew up, your friends grew up and it was exhausting. No really it was fucking exhausting.

Last year, we were all sitting around thinking how 2017 was going to be our year! We were going to fucking do it and achieve our dreams. We were going to fall hopelessly in love with one another and just live life to the fullest. And you started out that way. You really did. Everything seemed like it was falling into place. One bad week turned into one bad month; then you woke up and it was December.

Fuck.

But you know what didn’t change? Those people you’re surrounded with right now. The people who showed up for you when your heart was breaking. The people who rallied around when you quit that job you fucking hated because your boss was a complete asshole. The people who took you in and fed you when you were on your last dime because the weekend before you got so drunk to try and cope with the amount of anxiety coursing through your veins.

Your friends are the family you get to choose, and if you’re lucky (like I know I am) your family are also your friends. Either way, the people you surround yourself with through the hellish year that was 2017, are the people you should be celebrating walking into 2018 with.

It doesn’t matter that things aren’t perfect right now. What really matters is that you try to get through the rest of this year with whatever dignity you (and I both) have left. Which may be little, but it’s there. I promise you it’s there.

Here’s what you need to remember, whatever happened this year doesn’t matter anymore. Kiss it goodbye the second the clock strikes midnight on January 1st.

What does matter is the people you’ll be ringing in the New Year with. Whether you have two really good friends or 30, those people are the ones who made 2017 bearable and chances are they are going to be the ones to make 2018 another year to remember.

So those moments leading up to 2018, when you’re thinking about all you lost and how 2017 didn’t turn out to be what you hoped, remember the people who were there through everything. Remember those people who are going to be there in the future. And be thankful for them. Tell them you’re grateful. Remind them you love them.

Because if you leave 2017 surrounded by those people, I promise you that you’re starting 2018 right.