Same Old, Same Old.

Ah Happy New Year Everybody. I wish you all a prosperous year ahead :). This post is coming out a couple of weeks after the first of January, so I’ve had some time to dwell on something. Sometimes resolutions and expectations can cause more harm than good - let me explain why. For those of you who don’t know me well, I have lived in an abundance of places, including Kuwait, Washington D.C. (fine Virginia), Michigan, California, and now Boston. Recently, I was asked whether I missed my high school self. Yet, I realize that in every differing location I’ve lived, I have been a new person each time. The person I am today is not the one you would’ve seen in the middle east. When your environment changes, you inevitably do as well. While I was pondering this question, I couldn’t just think of myself in high school self, but every single personality I’ve acquired throughout the world. Truth is, I couldn’t miss any of them as people, I only missed the lifestyle they were a part of. I know that if I were any versions of them today, they would never be able to handle the life I live now. So, I couldn’t aspire to be people that only existed when their time was right. I think that for the lifestyle they were a part of, they were absolutely perfect. I hope this makes sense, but when I look back I try to remember everything. The circumstances I was given and how I handled them both well and badly. I miss those aspects of myself, not who I was altogether. While it is normal to make New Year resolutions to evolve in this spontaneous new individual, it just may be that the person you are right now is perfect for the life you live. And that, the person you want to be just may take some time or growth. I tend to worry too much about who I am and what I need to do to change, and maybe it’s time I just learn to accept myself for what I am living now.

- With love, Fiza Usman