Despite having had some amazing experiences this year, I overwhelmingly felt that I hadn’t achieved much. And this heavy feeling caused me to want to shut down altogether when it came to really reflecting on the year.

The new year is upon us, and this generally prompts people to want to take a little time to reflect on the past year – what went well, what didn’t go well, did we accomplish the things we set out to?

As adults, we know that you can’t be all of those things–you pick something, and that’s it. That’s what you do with your life. But the truth is that we can always pivot and we can always grow.

Growing up, I was a really shy kid. I was afraid to talk to people and put myself out there. Even with people who were relatives, if you weren’t part of my everyday life, I didn’t want to talk to…