I have forgotten to pick a Word of the Year for 2015, but looking back, I would say that it was Courage.

Courage means doing whatever it is even though scares you, and 2015 offered me plenty of that.

• The year 2015 was the first time I travelled out of town, somewhere new, with only my sister as my companion.
• It was the time a huge work position = responsibility was offered to me.
• It was the time I took on planning a two-week Eurotrip even though I've never been there, and all I had was my belief that we can do it on our own.
• It was also the year I've finally fully let go of the past because I've hidden behind it for so long, using it as a reason for so many things in my life.
• And by the fourth quarter of the year, 2015 became the year I finally opened myself up to the possibility of falling in love again.
• And I finally sent that forgiveness letter because it felt time to fully let things go.

I've pondered for a while what my 2016 will be like, and this was before I've thought of a Word of the Year. The past two years have brought me immense experience and joy, and I have no regrets, but it also took me one step away from my life goals.

So I sat down and started planning. And when I thought about my Word of the Year, I realized it will be this: Taking Chances.

For 2016, I will both move backwards and forwards.

I will move back to the core of my goals and myself, while moving forward with my dreams. I will take chances with the things I want to do (such as fly a plane or go on an out of town trip with certain friends I've never been out with), and I will go back to editing. I will finish my editing class and reconnect with my old authors.

And I will move forward by the end of 2016. I will figure out what I want with my career, and whether I should take that next step I've been hesitating to try.

And finally, 2016 is the year I will take another chance on love. I didn't end up falling in love in 2015, and maybe it won't actually happen this year, but I refuse to let my fears and insecurities get the better of me.

2016, I'm ready for you.