4 End of Year Reflection Questions

The end of the year is the perfect time to look back and reflect on all we have learned and all we can celebrate in the past year. Often this reflection brings to light a tension between joy and grief.

 December is an ideal time to celebrate. The season brings a reason to be with family, host a party with friends, see the holiday lights at Rockefeller Center, or have a movie night in a cozy, warm apartment.

 December can also be a difficult month. The holiday season can magnify our losses and we might mourn someone we miss or something we missed out on.

 This past year has been a big one for me. It marked my second year in New York City, and also a change in my career. I left my job working as a coordinator at a non-profit organization to start a full-time graduate program at the School of Visual Arts studying design for social innovation. Many people, including me, could not have predicted, even just a few years ago, that my life would take this direction in 2019.

 I found it hard, and scary, making the decision to leave my job. Leaving the space where I had worked since I moved to the city left me grieving. I missed my co-workers and the communities I had worked with. On my last day of work, I walked home in the rain thinking how appropriate that it felt like the world was sad with me.

 However, jumping into graduate school has been worth celebrating. Being a student again takes a totally different mindset. I am a learner again. The experience is making me reshape how I view myself and my future. I have new experiences where I get to create with like-minded individuals. I am immersed in a program where I get to explore how design impacts the world around us and how I can create better futures for people.

 Have you experienced both joy and grief in this past year? Take time this season and reflect on how your life has been shaped by the ups and downs we all go through. Answer these questions: 

 What do I have to celebrate? 

What am I grieving? 

What have I learned this past year? 

What am I hopeful for in this next year?

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Many of our November articles addressed the struggles and difficulties the holiday season can bring.  If you find December to be a difficult month, check out our November content.