2016

This year has been weird - both in the good way and in the not so good way. I went a lot of places, met new people, did things that made my heart happy, did things that scared the living shit of me, learned about a whole another dimension of myself and so much more. In this attempt of a year recap here I could go into something deep about allllll the life lessons that have come out of my experiences this year in typical Kira fashion with deep revelations poignant with words that would bring tears from the audience through my fantastic use of the English language (*wow! humility!*), but honestly, so much has happened this year that I cannot even begin to wrap my head around it. If I even wanted to try to comprehend everything that truly happened this year, I would need to take a few months off, pull out my ratty journal and really dissect the inner channels of my brain and heaven only knows that I do NOT have the time to do something like that - especially now. To keep things pretty and neat here are two lists that sum up 2016. 

the good

I did really really well on my AP exams.

I completed my 200hr Power Yoga Teacher Certification with a badass group of people who have helped shape the person that I am today. 

I went to Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia with my mama and daddy this summer.

My itch to travel grew even more than I thought it could have.

I cried. A lot. I finally realized that it's ok to be a human with actual emotions and goodness did the emotions show up this year. 

I finished the year with a poppin' Instagram theme.

My little fam rented our first Airbnb over Thanksgiving Break in Sedona, Arizona and explore our favorite part of the USA even more.

I AM A SENIOR. 

I spent a lot of time with my family.

I TURNED 18. 

I didn't get into any car wrecks so that's nice. 

I deleted Snapchat forever. 

I continue to volunteer at MUSC and am still humbled to provide a sliver of stability and company to the children in a time where they need it the most.

I wrote some pretty darn good essays for college that I am very proud of. 

I took lots of pictures. 

I challenged myself intellectually and physically.

the not so good ... it's out there and it must be recognized because its just as important as the good

I realized that the SAT is not exactly my best friend.

I became absolutely addicted to my phone.

I continue to compare myself to others. 

I continue tell myself "I am not cool, strong, pretty, skinny, smart, or  (inert other word here) enough".

I am terrified to live in the moment. 

I have become the worst procrastinator.

I started to not close loops. 

I stopped following my intuition.

I realized that as I grow older the proximity of death for myself and those around me comes closer. 

I cried. A lot. 

I got distracted.

I lost sight of some of my goals. 

I became really disorganized.

I spoke before I thought a lot and let my quick wit get the best of me sometimes. 

I started creating bad relationships with things around me - playing mental games, not being in the present. 

I let something / someone else besides myself define my self worth.

So after reading this you may be thinking the same thing that I once thought to myself ... Kira, are you ok? And my response to that is yes, yes I am ok, in fact I am amazing. As weird and jumbled as my thoughts are and as dynamic as my feelings may be, I am very proud of how much I have grown up this year. As I learned from Baron Baptiste and my yoga journey, I lived my truth. I stepped into my own power and realigned my True North Alignment with my blood, sweaty workouts and lots of tears late at night. I laughed until I cried. I cried until I laughed. I sweated it all out. I talked it all out. Everything is out there my thoughts, my feelings and basically my everything and I scared the crap out of myself by doing this.  I freaking broke everything down so that I could build myself up from the bottom up so I could break through. I lived my f*cking truth. This is me. I am not waltzing in the new year and daintily flipping from one chapter to the next. I'm slamming this year shut because I conquered that b*tch. 2016 and I grew together and she showed me what I could be. So here I am. An authentic human being, my real true self ready to live the most epic life that I can; ready to take on all the new beginnings that are coming my way. Here I am a messy ball of life hurling into the new year ... yay!