December Café Chat: Growth & Reflection

Our December Café Chat post is here, and it’s all about reflection and growth among the past few years!  The perfect topic for the final days of 2016, and the new beginnings coming in 2017…

Happy Friday everyone!  I cannot believe we are heading into a brand new year, 2016 absolutely flew by!  I’ve been busy creating goals/resolutions for 2017, and I know this year is going to be the best one yet!!  A lot of very exciting things are changing and happening in my life during this upcoming year, and I cannot wait to share each moment with all of you!

This month’s Café Chat was much different than the previous ones, because we decided to have a fun girl’s night in!  Michigan is covered with snow and ice, so we made our favorite hot drinks and got cozy in the apartment that Ally and I share!  December was Ally’s month to pick the topic, and she chose to talk about writing a letter to our younger selves.  For me, this topic was all about reflection and growth from my previous teenage years, and how blessed my life truly is!

My life has been far from ordinary, but I believe I’ve lived a beautiful one thus far!  Everything in my life has happened for a reason, and each moment, good and bad, has led me to the woman I am today.  Throughout my teenage years, it was very difficult for me to believe that.  For a while I felt as if the weight of the world was placed on my shoulders, and I refused to believe anything good would come of it.  I was constantly focusing on the negatives instead of allowing myself to find the beauty in each situation I was in, and it was turning me into a completely different person.  When I moved away to college, I truly began to find myself and realize all of the beautiful aspects of my life.

If I could share a few pieces of advice with my younger self, I would share this:

Stop focusing on the negatives

Stop letting other people influence you

Allow yourself to take a break, and escape for a little bit

Laugh more often, and enjoy more of life’s moments

Open up about your feelings, and stop keeping them bottled inside waiting to burst

I also would let myself know how strong I am, how proud I am of myself, and how wonderful my life is going to turn out!  This year I was finally able to fall in love with myself and every aspect of my life, and I now know this is exactly the person I’m supposed to be.  My friends, family, and loved ones helped me along that journey, and I’m so blessed to be surrounded by the most inspirational, incredible group of people.  I’ve never been happier, I’ve never felt better, and I truly can’t imagine a more perfect life!

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I’m thrilled to announce that we’re going continue our Café Chat series into 2017, so make sure you head over to Where the Wildflowers Are, A Touch of Tulle, and Pretty, Young & Motivated to read Paige, Ally, and Alyssa’s posts!  Also, I’m sharing my goals/resolutions for 2017, as well as some updates coming on Simply Tess, so definitely check back on Monday so you don’t miss out!

Love & Good Vibes

Tessa

Today’s Inspiration