I am on the other side.
I am on the other side of what has happened in my career.
I am on the other side of what I’ve experienced in my mental health journey.
I am on the other side as it relates to my relationships.
This doesn’t mean I have it figured out or that I am fully out of the “in between.”
But I feel like I am on the other side of everything I’ve experienced.
I am thankful to be in a better place in my life because the first few years of my 30s, which I entered in 2021, were so hard.
But as I look back, it all makes sense.
What was at the core of my challenges was the career I was in and being diagnosed with OCD.
Being a school counselor brought on a lot of frustration and disappointment, to the point of tears.
OCD has made me question and doubt the very things I felt sure of. Along with anxiety, it also made me feel like I was a messed-up person. OCD and anxiety made me spiral in ways I couldn’t imagine.
Now that I have left school counseling and have done a lot of healing in my mental health journey, I can see what I’ve learned.
It feels good to be 34 with new perspectives, lessons, values, beliefs, and opinions. Especially as someone who used to judge herself a lot, it feels good to have a little more ownership of these things about myself.
You may ask… what is next, Anina?
My response is, I don’t know.
All I know is that I will continue to dance and write.
The rest I will figure out eventually.
2025, thank you.
But also, thank you to the years prior, because even though they were difficult, those years are equally important and played a huge role in my journey.
2026, let’s see what is next!
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