An Open Letter for 2018

Happy New Year! I'm early I know, but everyone's doing it and it got me thinking … What do I wish for you for the New Year? Probably a lot of the same things I wish for myself. It’s a time of year for both reflecting and looking ahead, often publicly, but I’m not going to post my highlight reel on instagram, because really the only person it matters to is me. I’m not going to tell you how I’m “coming for 2018” because I think we could all do with a little less talking about our business and a lot more doing, so I’d prefer to just show you the results, whatever they might be. And actually I’m not going to tell you all the things I learned about myself this year, because although their significance is great to me, to you they mean nothing without the whole story, which is far too much for one blog post.

So instead, this is an open letter for the New Year to everyone I've ever met & have yet to meet, and to myself. I hope it rings true for you.

… Dear friends /family. /people I still connect with on social media even though we don't really talk anymore but I know you read these because our mutual friends told me that you did. /people I congratulate on social media and think I know but really don't at all. /people I'm loving from afar because I can't keep you in my life right now ... I hope the next year really is the best year yet for you. I hope all of your personal and career successes are everything you want them to be. I hope when you achieve them you're not waiting for other people to congratulate you. I hope you do it for yourself and not for the validation you'll feel when you share the news. I hope you're kind to yourself in the next year. I hope you don't take your failures to heart or give up on yourself when it seems like it's all going wrong. I hope when you can't see the sun you know where to reach for an umbrella. I hope you remember it all passes. I hope you’re working on yourself. I hope you love yourself more than ever before next year and learn that your value is priceless. I hope you forgive yourself for the mistakes you made this year, and the one before, and the one before that. I hope you try not to make them again. I hope you forgive other people who have hurt you, because you know the only person suffering when you hold on to that pain is you. I hope you know that your best is all you can do, and it is and always has been, enough.

I hope you make your most beautiful art this year. I hope you go and create everything that’s in your heart. I hope you don’t care what the world thinks of it. I hope you do it all with love. I hope you free yourself from comparison. From looking at what anyone else is doing and letting it affect your own happiness. I hope you're patient with yourself and remember it's OK if actually it doesn't turn out to be "your year."

I hope you fall in love this year. With yourself, with someone else, with a new city, with a new passion. I hope it sweeps you off your feet and never puts you down.

I hope you travel to places you’ve never been, experience things you’ve never seen and do the things you only ever dreamed of doing.

I hope you learn more about yourself than ever before. I hope you learn more about the world, and the people in it. I hope life teaches you an unexpected lesson. I hope you look back one day and think about how much this next year changed you for the better.

I hope it's a year to remember for all the right reasons. I hope the joy outweighs the pain by far, and that in every day you feel grateful either way. I hope I see you soon. Happy New Year. CD x