Today is New Year's Eve. Instead of making New Year's resolutions, I decided to think about all of the good things that happened to me not only this year, but also the last year and the years before that. 



That was, all in all, a pretty good year. Well, it was not spectacular in any way, but it was good. I like my life. I haven't won the lottery and I haven't traveled the world, but who cares? I have enough money and I travel enough as is now. I am surrounded by good friends and I thoroughly enjoy my life. My Mom visited me this year and she met my in-laws for the first time. She visited a lot of great places and she absolutely loves my family. It also turned out that I don't have cancer, which is great news since my doctor suspected that I might. 

In the spirit of celebrating what's good in my life instead of what I want to change by making new resolutions, I would like to think about what my 30-year old self would have told my 17-year old self if they ever got a chance to meet. 

Firstly, I would have told my scared, too mature for my age self to take a deep breath and relax. I would have told myself not to worry about the future that much, because it will all work out in the end. 

I would also have told myself not to plan the future too much since I will laugh and laugh about my plans later on. 

I would have mentioned that I should never listen to anybody who thinks that they know how I should live my life. I will have a very different life from many of my neighbors and childhood friends in the future and I won't regret choosing my own path. 

I would have told myself never to let other people believe that they have the right to judge me based on their narrow-minded point of view.

I would have told myself to work hard and study hard, because all of the skills and education that I have gotten paid off in the longer run. I will not regret long hours spent with my book nor countless language courses I took.

I would have admitted that studying that hard was a good idea, but that I should have also spent more time with my dear friends, because there will be times that I will miss them. 

I would also have told her that I should not be scared of getting older, because I love my life more and more with every passing year.