Color the World.

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." - Neil Gaiman

At the start of every year, there are millions of people with new years resolutions, millions of people vowing to change at least one aspect of their lives. I am not one of those people. I don't believe in new years resolutions, I kind of feel that when you set yourself a goal like "lose weight" you will just end up getting frustrated with yourself when you don't accomplish what you envisioned on day one. Instead, I believe that I am more successful when I simply do things because I want to, because I have the drive to accomplish them... not because on January 1st I feel obligated to set some goal for myself. Yet, the beginning of a new year can still be significant.

Don't ignore an opportunity to embrace change. Embark on the wings of new possiblities. Don't sell yourself short. Don't let the next year slip by, day by day, without growing. You can always be a better version of yourself. And those dreams inside of you, they are meant to be spoken. They are meant to be embraced... Not ignored. A new year does as it always does - an open, unknown, stretch of months waiting to bring you what you can never imagine. What you think you know now, might be nowhere close to where you'll be a year from now, or even a few months down the road. Don't cut yourself off from the world. Don't shut open doors. Walk through and trust that God has it in control. Life is not a dead end, even when it feels that way. Even when it seems impossible to get up, there is a way. Keep pushing. In every situation, in whatever you do, keep trying. Keep believing. There is always something greater than you. Do not be afraid. Your world is a blank piece of paper and you are the artist. You have the ability to change. To shape. To color.

For me, embracing my world means heading back to school at the end of this week and being the best possible version of myself. Putting my heart into my studies, and more than that - giving my heart to God. This is a brand new semester, and there are things I left when I came home for break and I am more than ready to pick them back up again. I am my own person. And away from those I've known for years, I can be that person. I can find myself. So, as I embark into 2010, and into all the unknown possiblities that await I just want to say Thanks... Thank you God, for giving me another day. Another year. Another moment. Another opportunity to shape my life for you. To continue to discover my potential, to conquer the things I don't even know exist yet. I am truly blessed. I am happy. And this year, should be amazing.