What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

In 2015, it was the moment when I realized that I could finish Ice Cream Travel Guide. In 2014, it was when I wrote a well-crafted piece (that I read to a live audience 11 months later). In 2013, it was when light shone in the face of despair. In 2012, it was when I stood up for myself. In 2011, it was a moment of clarity, sincere belief and friendship. In 2010, it was an action of commitment.

In 2016, it was the moment that I realized that everything that was disappointing this year can change next year. Sure there were the results of the election and suddenly distraught I was the following morning, but I found solace in potential political groups, the sudden community, and the outpouring of hope. And obviously Chris, the most political savvy person I know, didn’t say that the world was the end. I knew that it was okay. It was also the moment that I realized that I could change how my career went. I found myself in a place of disappointment, but I realized that I had the skills and experience to change my destiny. It was also the moment that despite what the adage goes, it’s harder to make friends when you’re older, it was when I was meeting new people easily for both my work and writing. I didn’t have to stay with the status quo.

In the last several years, I have learned to be proactive in the face of insurmountable obstacles. Because somehow deep inside me, I sincerely believe that if I keep chipping away at a block, I will finally climb over it. It’s like a jawbreaker. Usually, it’s too huge to put in your mouth to suck at it. But eventually with multiple licks (and probably chipped teeth), it will get smaller and smaller. Because any huge obstacles do not stay obstacles if you keep leaning.

I will ask. I will keep moving. I will keep requesting. I will keep trying. I will keep doing. I won’t stop.

Everything’s going to be ok.