When I look back on my life I see it as many different chapters. Some I remember with a smile on my face and others not so much. There’s been struggle, laughter, pain and smiles. This does not make me unique, it makes me human. But everyone has their own unique collection of chapters.
The thing about life and personal growth is knowing when it’s time to close a chapter and start a new one. I very recently did just that. I’m not going into detail about this at this very moment, but there was something in my life that needed changing and finally I got the opportunity to make that change. To start a whole new chapter that I’m very excited about.
Closing chapters can be bittersweet for sure. Even though the chapter wasn’t a particular good one it’s still the ending of something and endings can be difficult. It’s a weird thing, how something so much needed can feel like such a relief and in the same way so hard. Sometimes it can be about security and routine. About the fear of making changes to everyday life. Other times it’s the fear of making the wrong choice. To go into another chapter that has an even worse ending than the one you just closed.
My chapter was one that was more a relief than anything else. Every new chapter comes with a new set of risks, new obstacles to cross and new roads to take. Roads that might take you closer to your dreams or they might guide you to a whole new dream. Some might feel like a setback, but any closed chapter is at least one new lesson learned.
My new chapter is the start of something very exciting. Something that has taken me closer to my dream and my goals. It’s scary but I’m mostly overwhelmed with excitement and happiness. There was a time not so long ago when I felt stuck in a chapter where I didn’t really have any idea of where my life was headed. It was driving me crazy with worry and making it hard for me to stay as positive a person as I usually am. But now that I’ve finally closed that chapter and started a new one I can feel that positivity coming back to me and even though the last year has been a har one, now things are starting to work themselves out. I’ve worked hard to get here and to even be able to start this chapter at this very moment.
There’s been a lot of pain and a lot of changes that had to be made. There’s been times where I was so tired of it all and felt like I really could have gone without the struggle, but now at this very moment I choose to look at it in a different light.
If I hadn’t gone through all of that, I might’ve not ended up where I am right now. And who knows where it will all lead? Because that’s the scary and wonderful part of it all. You live the book of life from page to page, not knowing what will come. Chapter after chapter, your character develops into something more, something different and something new.
When you feel like something isn’t right then change it. Finish the chapter and close it up. That big dream of yours might be just around the corner. You just have to turn the page and start on your next chapter.
Christina de Vries 