“Okay I’ve seriously lost my mind” I said out loud as I trudged through the employee parking lot looking for my car.

“I mean I know I’m crazy but legitimately I can’t be THIS crazy” as I came upon the spot was where my car *had* been prior to flying to Amsterdam and back. But as my shoes made a loud “squishing” noise as water seeped in I realized I had in fact lost my car.

Convinced I had lost my mind I determined the best solution was to check every. single. row. of the lot for my car that I seem to have misplaced. Except that it’s a lot almost a mile wide.

I pressed on.

After pulling my little suitcase through that endless parking lot for two hours, shivering and sneezing I decided I was the victim of car theft. I frantically called the police in tears saying someone had stolen my car. But instead of the sympathy and immediate help I expected I was informed my registration had expired while I was gone and and it had been towed on Christmas. (Side note- what scrooge tows cars on Christmas?)

I sat in a little cold hut realizing I wasn’t going to be able to fly home to North Carolina for a late Christmas like I had planned and sobbed until my face resembled a tomato. I muttered that 2016 was in fact the worst year ever. EVER! Because every time you look at the news/social media someone famous has died or someone you didn’t like got elected for president or maybe a million other things.

Except I was and am wrong. Yes some celebrities passed away and yes the elections were atrocious but only 71 years ago people were returning home after spending the war in a concentration camp. Imagine how they felt about their year? I know it’s dramatic, but hang with me.

Thousands of families would never see their loved ones again after September 11th, 2001 which was only 15 years ago. My brain can’t even fathom such grief and loss yet here I am sharing how Mariah Carey’s drunken performance last night really sealed the deal on 2016 being thaaaaa worstttt. Not to say there weren’t tragic and wrongful things that happened in 2016 because there were, but unless you could take a stand with a single click, most would rather avoid the painful and focus on the cute cat memes.

If those strong men and women were able to press on and find happiness, it really makes the struggles of having no free wifi on the plane seem rather insignificant. *preaching to the choir on this one*

Do I have a New Year’s Resolution for 2017? Usually I don’t but this year I do.

I want to leave 2017

a little more sparklier,

a little more joyful

then when it started and most of all I want to stop playing the “millennial victim” and not cry when Chickfila runs out of their seasonal Peppermint Chocolate Milkshake!

XOXO,

Christena