Today we say goodbye to the year 2024. I’ve been seeing so many people post their 2024 recaps; people I know got engaged, married, pregnant, maybe they bought a house, they got that dream job, you name it. And it’s so easy for me to compare everyone else’s year to mine. Although I had a great year, there’s still so much I hoped would happen that didn’t. But that’s when I realized something important; someone else’s success isn’t my failure.

In the age of social media, sometimes life feels like a competition. Every time I see a post about someone’s accomplishments, relationships, milestones, etc, I think about where I am in my life and I wish I was in a different situation. I had hoped to maybe switch gears and jumpstart my legal career. I was hoping to maybe find love. And of course, my year began on a somber note with the passing of my grandfather and the closing of my college. 

As I was creating a reel of all my memories from this year, I began to realize that just because maybe I wasn’t as successful as others, doesn’t mean that my year wasn’t great. I graduated my paralegal program at Hofstra, I got to go on two amazing European vacations and make lifelong friends. The 2024 I had was even better than the one I had planned in my head. I can’t stop thinking about an old post I saw on Tik Tok that said what’s meant for you in life will never pass you by, and that really put things into perspective for me. Maybe this year didn’t go the way I planned for it, but it went exactly the way it was meant to go; although my grandpa’s passing has been hard to deal with, it has taught me to enjoy the time I have with everyone I love. Even though I didn’t land my dream job this year, it is still out there waiting for me and I wouldn’t end up there if I had landed at any of the firms that rejected me or ghosted me. Maybe I didn’t find romance this year, but this year has taught me that my circle of friends and family is just as special. If Saint Rose hadn’t shut down, I wouldn’t have finally begun to find closure, heal from my college trauma and leave those days in the past. 

And so, as we wrap up this year, may I remind you all that every achievement is worth celebrating, no matter how small. Even just making it to the end of the year is a major accomplishment; life isn’t easy to navigate for anyone, and being here another year is most definitely something to celebrate. I’m proud of you…take a bow. 

And with that, I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. I hope 2025 is everything you hope it will be, and more. Cheers!