3.5 years

I looked at photos of my first year in Boston the other day, and I was blown away.

The past three and a half years have been that of incredible growth for me. The difference in who I was when I moved to Boston at 25, to who I am now at 29 — is substantial.

The thing is though, if you looked at my progression as a graph, it would be far from a straight, linear line. It would look more like a heart rate monitor, that slowly but surely, over time, moved it’s way up. At times, you’d see a dot higher than I have ever been, and at other times, lower than I have ever been before.

You see on the path to more closely aligning with the highest, best version of myself — I have seen some of my highest highs, but I have also seen some of my lowest lows. I had so many setbacks throughout that time. I failed harder than I’ve ever failed, and at times, I didn’t know if I would ever fully get back up. Sometimes, it felt like I was getting worse before it felt like I was getting better.

Where I started three and a half years ago was probably the most lost and confused I had ever been — I was probably overall the furthest away from the highest, best version of myself. And now, while I still have a long way to go — I’m the closest.

What I think is really cool about this, is thinking of where I’ll be in another 3 and a half. Where will I be starting where I am now? If I focus on one thing at a time, one day at a time — who will I be at 33?

You see from day to day it’s often difficult to see the progress you’re making. But after making small decisions to change and grow day after day, and after getting back up on the days that you don’t — you’ll, one day, be able to look back and see how far you’ve come.

Don’t give up on that.