The Way Up

I was restocking product at my seasonal job with Patagonia this afternoon when the weight of 2014 came crashing down upon me. The emotions I felt were so overwhelming, I had to hold back tears of grief, of sorrow, of joy… All of these feelings I’d been holding inside of me for what seemed like an eternity, too stubborn and proud to let them out. I have survived , I told myself, and I will continue to survive. By God, I still hope that I’m right. To tell the truth, this last year has been one of the hardest years of my life. In 2014 I let myself get stuck in a destructive relationship, experienced my hardest breakup yet, worked within a company that I felt did not appreciate my voice or my experience, and was laid off from my job just before the holidays. The world felt like it was falling from beneath my feet, and every time I tried to re-lay the foundation it would just crumble apart again. I tried not to let these hardships that I knew would serve as important learning experien...