Release from unhappiness that held me tight in a state of depression for over a year. Release from waking up every day, forcing the bright smile and optimistic attitude everyone knows me for. Release from people and environments that didn't serve me. I celebrate release because, while it was the hardest time in my life so far, I can now look back and stand tall in the lessons it taught me. I've accepted that my purpose in life is to be a light for others and to share my story - the good, the bad, and the not so pretty. To show that, regardless of how things look on the outside, everyone is perfectly imperfect. But at that time when I was stuck in the depths of depression, I didn't know my story because I didn't know who I was anymore and how I was going to get "me" back. As I tried to figure that out, The Confetti Project exposed me to stories of strangers that showed me that I would, one day, get to my light at the end of the dark tunnel I was in, and that I would one day tell my story and be a light for others again. So here I am celebrating life in a way that, with the help of intentional self-care and therapy, I can once again live unapologetically. I have grown from my circumstances and am sitting in genuine joy and happiness - even when my anxiety hits! Today, I celebrate release because I have entered a new year of life, knowing who I want "me" to be, leaving the rest behind - standing ready for anything and fearing nothing.

Happiness. I celebrate it in all of its forms. Reading about methods to achieve it, writing about it to memorialize moments, talking about it with friends and complete strangers with the hope that it isn’t ever taken for granted as a small achievement in this, at times, heavy world. It’s easy to be happy when things are going as planned. The real challenge is maintaining the feeling when it feels like everything is going against you. And that’s what I challenge myself and others to do…find that feeling of happiness that warms your insides with feelings of gratitude and makes you realize how lucky you are in that exact moment regardless of the situation. Use those tough moments you’ve navigated through as inspiration. Use someone else’s happiness as motivation to pull you up when you’ve lost yours. Acknowledge the simple moments where you drop your shoulders and feel peace. We all get the option to choose happiness.

I choose to celebrate how strong I am. My son passed away 10 years ago at 4 days old. Within a year after that, my husband divorced me. I was in a terribly dark place for a very long time. Even though my son’s passing has forever changed me, I have emerged from the tragedy and chose to pick myself up and try to live the best life I can. I’ve lost out on a lot of happiness. I need to make up for a lot of lost time. I wouldn't say that my whole life from that point has felt empty but there's an emptiness in my life. I just want to be happy. That pain is still so fresh and real. It never goes away. I made a promise to myself all those years ago that I don't want to lose myself too. I thought I had the life I always dreamed of: I was married, pregnant, I had a house. When he passed, soon after that - I lost everything. My husband left me. We sold the house. Everything that I thought I wanted in life was gone. I feel like I could have turned to all sorts of things to get me out of bed in the morning but I didn't. I went through my grief. I did it because I think he'd want me to. Patrick has taught me that life is really short. Love the people that are around you. Don't take anything for granted. It really is a short time that we're here and so try to make yourself as happy as you can however that is or whatever that means to you. I don't always live by those words but they are so true.

Today and every day, I celebrate individuality. I've always struggled with being a tad off-stream - I dance more passionately, cry more intensely, speak more theatrically and sass more freely than most. But being different, being *more* than most is what drives me - no matter how scary or anxiety-inducing that may feel at times. It's taken some reflection, but I've realized that If I can't rally a group to spontaneously go to that morning rave or to that lip-sync battle or that secret comedy show tucked in a TBD location, that's okay. I don't need a crowd. I'll stick to sticking out of the crowd. People will always try to put you in a box, a box tightly sealed and wrapped, with a big, fat label slapped on. Well, I resist. No one puts Baby in a box - unless it’s filled with confetti.

I celebrate knowing that there's a life inside of me that I'm responsible for. It's the biggest responsibility of my life and I am both scared and excited to be starting this journey. So far it's been really great and I have no complaints - in fact I feel like being pregnant has really brought me out of being completely self-involved. I'm still me but I want to make sure that everything I do now is helping my baby be the best she can be. I want to be a mom who's fun but firm and I want my daughter to know that no matter what I'll always be there for every question and concern. I'm really grateful that this baby is a part of me and Moses. He is just the best person in the world and the thought that she is part of both of us is what gets me through everything. It's what got me through the horror show of an election. It's like: he might be president but I'm giving birth to an actual amazing person and I know that she's going to be amazing because she's part me, part Moses. That sounds so conceited but I just know she's going to be great. And not just looks wise. I feel like he and I really complete each other and now that's all coming together in one person. That just makes me so happy. Just knowing that the good thing that's going to come out of this is that she is going to be born and that we get a chance to guide her into becoming a really awesome woman.

I had a friend that said he will spend three hours in bed watching TV before he gets up. I’ve never done that in my life. Ever. I grew up with pets so I’d wake up because my pets would wake me up and I would have to feed them. So I’m not good at staying in bed. I’m also not good at not wanting to go out and run around in the world. I have to work hard to go home and clean my room and just sit there. It’s not FOMO. I just like to be experiencing things, even if it’s in a cafe reading a book. I love adventure and questing and having an inventory of goods on my person used to make something. I will often leave the house with a weird sequin dress in my backpack - not necessarily with a destination in mind - but in case I get somewhere and I really want to be wearing a sequin dress or a ball gown. That is one way I wake up everyday and feel excited is that there is always all of this potential. It’s not like everyday has to be the most exciting day of your life but if you take that desire of questing and apply it to your own reality, you can make everything tinged with magic.

I’m celebrating the wildest year in my life! Applying for permanent residency in France, having a baby, leaving toxic nonsense behind, building a new brand, and getting married! And I want to celebrate a little of just me right now. I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have to worry but I don't have to stress about money. It’s the first time in my life I've had that. I never thought I'd be someone in their mid-30's who's stable. It feels good to actually have made it, sort of. I got here by taking a lot of calculated action. Taking action is a skill set. It takes practice. I bought Julia Child's house in France. One of my favorite stories from buying it is how many emails I received from people saying they *almost* did the same thing. I started collating the almost. I think I had 150+ emails. I decided to call my real estate agent and ask: how many people inquired about the house? 10. So there's 200 people who believed to almost buy it but they never even called. I'm willing to chase most things. But I also know how to chill and breathe. Most people don't believe that but that's because when I'm in rest mode I'm not around people. I rest every week for at least a full day. I've found balance. It doesn't have to be perfectly even but you also don't have to work all the time to be successful. So here I am celebrating letting go of so much and welcoming the pieces that serve me.

I identify with spontaneity because I believe the currency of life is found in experiences. Even the best nights of sleep are filled with the dreams of the bravest thing you'd do awake. Seizing opportunities as they fall into your lap is the surest way to make sure you don't find yourself sleeping through life. Pay your bills like an adult but chase your dreams like a 6 year old.

Sometimes my anxiety is so high it’s hard to breathe. Sometimes my depression is so low my body aches. I'm kind of a mess. But the very core of me is pure love. I feel most alive when I am writing. As a writer, I look to inspire vulnerability, connection, and courage. I’ve had a lot of dark times in my life, when my self-worth was so low I didn’t think it mattered if I lived any longer. I felt alone. I felt like no one loved me. My depression disconnected me from the world. I want others to know they are not alone too. There's a power in being comfortable with yourself. Being able to sit in the pain. Being able to understand that life is pretty painful - it's just how it is - and there are moments of beauty and joy and happiness but it's inevitable to not experience pain. We all have the same fears and insecurities and it's what makes us human and beautiful. I believe how we connect with others is the only way to live an authentic and joyful life. I'm celebrating finding my voice. It reminds me of that Madeleine Albright quote, "It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent." It took me so long to get here. I've learned how to navigate the world in a more centered way. I feel very at peace even though my life is a shit storm. If I'm celebrating anything it's that I've finally come to love myself - unapologetically and unconditionally.

I need to go to sleep thinking that the tooth fairy is going to put money underneath my pillow. Or go outside and make up some story in my head that comes true. Because when you make stories up and believe in them, they can happen. A child has unconditional belief that fuels their imagination that adults shoot down with reality. Whatever reality is for us. So I think for me what helps me get through is to never let go of that. That’s the wandering child in me. I know my friends indefinitely. My family I don’t know as well. I don’t know anyone past my grandmother. They don’t know much about me but my shock value. What my grandmother remembers about me is the fact that I keep moving to new cities. She’s an elder Dominican woman from the island. She doesn’t get why I’m not in school. I think I do all these things to keep that child alive. I was the biggest risk that my mom took and I feel like I should live out that legacy. I have to make my birth worth it because she went through so much to have me. I have to make this worth it. My family doesn’t deserve to see what they see. There’s so many things that I notice that my life has gotten and their life hasn’t and I never understood that because we came from the same vessel. Each person in my family has a certain complex - something that has stopped them from doing what they want to do. I’ve had my own restrictions but I show them the unbelievable sides of life.

I started off the year in the darkest place of my life - a newly single mum after my 18 year relationship ended unexpectedly. I was 17 when we met, just a child. I’m learning who I am now as an adult in a world completely foreign to me and I’m loving who I am. I live for my 2 children (Archie and Willow) but I am also living for myself too. I’m trying lots of new things including a Krav Maga training program. I took my first child free holiday to NYC. It was the first time I flew long distance on my own. And just last week I became the proud owner of a puppy (but don’t tell the kids it’s a surprise). I’ve learned how resilient I am after experiencing something I never dreamed imaginable and I’m so proud of the strength I’ve shown in getting my life back together and protecting my kids from the fall out. I always knew I was a strong person but I never gave myself credit for just how strong I actually am.

Sunlight vaguely passes through my broken curtains. The increasingly colder New York air fills my lungs. From the other side of the crowded and hot subway carriage, a young girl smiles at me. Hope and happiness is combined, and I smile back. The city, with all its weirdness, colors, sadness, fates, broken dreams, ambitions, creativity, spoken and unspoken words, inspires me. The lights are blinding, people are shouting, the city is oozing urine, sewage and garbage, but I keep smiling. This is not just another day. It is never just another day. It is another day where I get to live my life. Another day where I get to choose how to live my life. It is freedom. And every single day, I wake up, ready to face whatever challenge may come, because I am liberated, at last. I have overcomed my heaviest battles and worst fears. My wounds are my armor, and my weaknesses have grown to become my strengths. I am strong enough to fight the resistance life serves me, and strong enough to get back up again. I choose not to let darkness overcome me. I say no to an everyday filled with self-destructive behavior, narrowminded opinions, tyrannical pressure and depressive thinking. Instead, I celebrate fierceness. I celebrate empowerment. I celebrate freedom.