Six Great Words of Advice for 2023 From My Best Friend

This cute Photo by Thgusstavo Santana from Pexels depicts exactly how we will grab 2023 and make it work for us.

2022 has been a rollercoaster in every sense of the word.

We all felt it in our bones. Some more than others, in our homes, jobs, and health. Inflation bit us in the ass. Banditry and kidnapping became full-time jobs in Nigeria while mass shootings became the modern-day nightmare of America. Even baby formula made women cry in America.

Amid all these, the United States will elect the first black woman to serve as a Supreme court justice. This will herald the biggest question of 2022.

What is a woman?

I began preparations to apply to grad school in 2021. It was one of my goals for 2022 and what a journey it has been for me this last half of the year. Anyone who has gone this route can tell how much soul-searching, quiet time, and self-encouragement it entails.

Then comes the anxiety with every notification of a new email received, with every new week you have to wait for admission decisions.

I started writing my statement of intent over four months before my deadline. I contacted alumni, current students, friends, and family to edit as much as possible and took as many suggestions as I could without changing my message. When I submitted it, I was absolutely sure it was great. However, one week later, I was crying about how a particular sentence did not fully represent me. My prospective grad school has an 8% acceptance rate, so I was worried that one line could jeopardize my chances.

My best friend, Faith, will read my chats and respond with the most believable life coach-ey thing anyone has ever said to me.

Don’t try to fast-forward your emotions.

These words are engraved in my mind for the coming year.

She would tell me it is okay that I feel this way. She said it shows how much I want this. However, I should not feel sadness when nothing has prompted it yet. Why be sad about not getting in without being told that?

Please give your mind and body time to process all your emotions.

This prompted me to ask myself some questions

• What if I feel sad for the next three months until decisions are in and I get in? I would have wasted all this time on something unfounded.
• What if I feel sad for the next three months until decisions are in and I do not get in? I would have been sad for more time than I should have.

So, as 2023 rolls in, I will learn to feel emotions as they come. At this time, I am anxious but excited. Sometimes, a lot more of one than the other. That is okay. In the same way,

• Do not already feel stressed in advance because you anticipate you will have a lot to do in the coming year
• Do not already feel downcast because you have a bad feeling about the coming year.

Allow yourself live.

Bienvenido el nuevo año