The Buck Doesn’t Stop at 25

(Disclaimer - this is a long post, but I also know y'all got nothing but time now lol)

As I was blessed to see the milestone of 25 years of life last Friday, I reminisced on how far I’d come. The challenges I’ve faced, the impacts I’ve had, my shortcomings, my career, and the trajectory my future is on have all been essential in my growth to this point. It has not been easy. “Say it louder for the people in the back!!” said my audience. IT. HAS. NOT. BEEN. EASY. Hooookay?! But we thank God for seeing this year because many didn’t have the same opportunity.

Is This Who You Wanted to Become?

Being able to witness a milestone such as entering a new decade calls for a time of self-reflection. Personally, it’s been a time to think about how far I’ve come in the past 10 years; particularly as a result of the environments I’ve found myself in, and the impact they’ve had on my life. But not just my own, but others as well. I get it - we’re all special in our own way thanks to the Man upstairs. But of course, given free will, we make decisions for ourselves. Those decisions have typically been influenced by our environment - whether we were born in a low-income neighborhood or a wealthy one; whether we grew up in a home with one parent or both; whether we went to a HBCU, a PWI, were home-schooled, or didn’t go to school at all - we were all impacted by external factors. But the question is, how did it play a role in how our lives panned out?

Change Now, Reap Later

“New year, new me,” but you’re still doing the same things from 2018. “I’m starting the business this year,” but you’re still hanging around your demotivated friends. “Oh, I am definitely going to start this diet,” but you’re still hitting McDonalds for that 2 for $5 Fish Filet. “I’m over them and won’t give them another chance,” but you’re still sending them “wyd” texts when you get lonely. “I won’t cheat on you again,” but you’re still responding to those late night “you up?” texts and still answering DMs on social media. “I’m going to value myself and my body,” but you’re still posting thirst traps.” “I’m going to change Lord,” but you’re still living the same life as non-believers. “God, I’m going to follow your plan and go where you lead me,” but you’re still trying to make your own dreams happen.

You Can’t Walk into 2019 with 2018 Baggage

I opted to make this piece short and sweet because getting into the nitty gritty of each of the points I make below would result in an extremely long post I’m sure most people would not read in its entirety (I know I probably wouldn’t). Not only that, but it helps get straight to the point about aspects of our lives that need attention and improvement in 2019 and beyond. These are areas that have become too commonplace and serve as deterrents of progress. Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list of every single area of our lives that we need to address, but even the ones that may not be directly related to you can help incite an understanding of what you need to do in order be a better person in the new year.