Dear Old 2023, 

This is just a cliché thank you letter, same as every end of the year. So where do we begin?

I believe the best beginning to this end would be to credit you for being the best year of my life.

Is it for being the happiest and most peaceful year? Definitely not. It rather is for being everything opposite of that. It’s a thank you for bringing into my life chaos, and tears, and a whole family of hurricanes because without this, I truly would not have grown the way I did.

Yes, I did lose many people in life, but I wouldn’t want it any other way, because you, my dear 2023, helped me recognize what’s real and truly beautiful in life, you taught me to understand the actual essence of true friendship and you taught me to understand what’s right and what just isn’t. You taught me to set boundaries, and to never take it easy or “learn to take a joke” if someone decides it’s funny to overstep them. This is a thank you letter, not for the “happy friendships” you brought into my life but for the real pain you gifted me, of discovering that “delulu is not the solulu”. This is a thank you for helping me look at things that have always been there and helped me truly let it go. But maybe also for the few people you’ve brought to me that have helped me through this journey. Definitely for that.

Dear 2023, this year you didn’t heal me. You broke me down to pieces, stabbing me in the same wounds again and again, completely destroying my self worth to the tiniest bit for breaking me down every day. You didn’t heal me, but rather, you gave me the power and the wisdom to heal myself. You gave me the understanding to know what’s right for me and what isn’t, and you gave me the strength to remove all the toxicity in my life, no matter how important the toxicity had been in my life at some point. You shattered me, but only so that I could rebuild myself into the best version of myself. You did not just give me scars, you also gave me the lessons I’d been denying in my life till now, you gave me the experiences that for sure, will protect me from everything that is to come in my life. Thank you for bringing me down, because this is the only way I can pull myself up.

But this is not a complete sad letter to you, I wish to thank you for the actual beautiful things you gifted me this year as well. Thank you for America and YYGS. Who’d have thought that my first ever journey alone would be to a destination so beautiful and envied? By opening my path to USA, you opened my path to living and fulfilling the dreams of my life. Also, thank you for the beautiful family you gifted me, without whom, it was not possible for USA to happen at all. Thank you for my ni, daddy, and melu, who’ve always put my best interests at heart.

Also, thank you for delving into my deepest dreams and giving me a chance to finally start learning music the way I wanted. Thank you for my Piano, thank you for my Bansuri, and thank you for my music. I’m forever indebted to you for what you brought into my life this year, dearest 2023.

This article is frankly getting way too long for my own comfort so let me end it with a sweet little note (summary actually). So, my beloved 2023, here’s the end to a wonderful year. You took away from me friends, peace of mind, strength, and many dreams too but you gifted me the biggest gift of them all; ME. The me I had lost to people long ago, you brought it back and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. I’ll miss you 2023,

Here, I bid you the final adieu.