Can you believe 2016 is finally over!? I still remember how it started for me- by falling HARD on my head after slipping on the dance floor once the clock striked 12am…

If you haven’t taken your guesses on how I feel about this past year, then you can probably come to the conclusion it didn’t have a fantastic start. In fact, 2016 might have been one of the hardest years of my young adult life and needless to say I’m pretty eager to say my goodbye to it once and for all.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

2016 was full of loss – both tragic and emotional. I went through a devastating breakup at the beginning of the year that took a tremendous amount of work to mentally come to terms with. Several friends of mine past away due to illness or accident which led me to close myself off to feeling any grief – something that makes the pain of recovering much harder to endure. Relationships with certain people in my life changed and some have journeyed down a path of no return from what they used to be. And most recently, I lost two childhood pets – a dog and a miniature pony – to unfortunate circumstances that my family and myself didn’t see happening.

Yes, 2016 was very rough for me. I felt numb and hurt a majority of these past 12 months which led me to feel down about everything else happening in my life. The negative was outshining the positive and no matter how hard I tried to be optimistic, this was a time in my life that would take a bit more work to overcome.

But there’s also some good that came out of this heartbreak of a year…

I realized I did the absolute best I could to manage and handle it all, probably fooling many people that I was going through a minor depression. I stopped being so hard on myself for feeling sad and rewarded myself for standing up to the people and moments that made certain days harder than others. 2016 gave me a backbone, a strong ass backbone – one I feel very proud to have right now.

They say everyone feels this kind of loss, in life and within one’s own self, at one point in his or her life so that when the moment everything else works out for the better, it can be appreciated to the nth degree. I’m glad I got the opportunity to face these undetermined challenges that more often than not, unfairly greeted me at the door; because now I feel extremely optimistic about what’s to come next.

If I can get through this year of hell, then I can definitely handle more of life’s challenges coming up. For that, I’m thankful the year 2016 happened to me the way it did then.

TO BE BRIGHT MILESTONES

TBB has been such a blessing for me and I can’t believe how far it has come since starting it in my college apartment at 1:00am on January 22, 2013. What started as an online resume has become a fully-focused life & style blog dedicated to my twenty-five-year-old style (& counting!)

Each year led to more exciting collaborations with bigger and bigger brands, one’s I never imagined I would get the opportunity to work with! Although it was technically published in 2015, seeing myself in the September issue of InStyle Magazine gave me the confidence to believe in what I was doing, which ultimately led to what TBB has become today.

This year in 2016, I got to attend more NYFW shows both seasons and even score my first trip to Miami Swim Week with KYBOE!

I was featured in Banana Republic’s ‘Your Life. Styled.’ summer campaign which led me to see myself in actual advertisements within the physical stores of NYC!

TBB was featured on the homepage of People Style Watch’s site The Outfit multiple times, sometimes as the cover article!

My blog grew beyond just style and branched into lifestyle and interior departments, which led me to my biggest break in the “home” sphere of blogging – working with Pottery Barn!

I spoke at the Her Campus ‘Her Conference’ this past July, hosting my very own panel on the “Business of Blogging.”

Most importantly, I got to work with some of the most talented brands & PR representatives this year and developed wonderful partnerships I couldn’t be more appreciative of. I was given the gift of quality due to the incredible generosity and support of these collaborations that shaped TBB into the sophisticated blog of my dreams. Thank you all x a million for these life-changing opportunities!

I’M BEYOND EXCITED FOR 2017!

Recognizing the strength I had all 2016 has given me a second wind of encouragement to kick off this new year off standing on both my two feet. My blog has been the one thing in my life that has given me sincere happiness and excitement for FOUR continuous years – 1.22.2013.

Despite everything else making a small or enormous dent in my immediate days, I always had this blog to remind me of how far I’ve come and what I’ve accomplished not only for myself but within the content I’ve provided for the amazing readers taking the time to visit my page.

From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank you all enough…

For your continuous support, love, and words of encouragement that has allowed me to continue To Be Bright for FOUR YEARS STRAIGHT!

I’m thankful for the amazing people and family I have in my life, my wonderful studio apartment in New York City, and my domesticated stray cat Manny.

I’m thankful I was taught life lessons necessary to endure and that I overcame them with a stronger sense of self-dignity, which resulted in a stronger sense of respect felt for myself.

No matter how dark things can unfortunately be, there’s always light at the end of it all. It may be difficult to see at first and it may take some time to get there, but it’s there and the lesson you teach yourself along the way of figuring it out is priceless.

I hope my personal story helps someone who has been or currently is in a similar situation; you’re not alone and things will get better, trust me.

HAVE A SAFE & WONDERFUL NEW YEAR’S WEEKEND FRIENDS!

SEE YA NEXT YEAR – WOOOOOOO!!!!