To 2016.

What a ride.

Everyone says you were brutal – at times you were – but you also nurtured, instructed and taught me so, so much.

You taught me to start prioritising the important things.

More than any of the years before you, you made it clear that if I wanted to get the most out of this journey and the best out of myself, I would need to set order to my life.

In the clearest way possible, you reminded me that family should come first, always, and that any success that I might have in business will be hollow if I neglect my loved ones in the process.

You taught me about competition: that it can be a good thing, and inspire action and ingenuity, but that I should never pin my self-worth on the outcome of a competition.

You showed me the wisdom of listening to learn and absorb, and not to rebut or one-up the other person. There are enough know-it-alls in the world and not enough good listeners.

You taught me to never judge a book by its cover. To be curious and open-minded. And you showed me that the greatest “life-class” moments can sometimes come from a stranger on the street.

On love, in the rawest way possible, you proved to me that I’m capable of it, and that love can be found in the unlikeliest of places. You showed me that a heart can break into a million pieces and still find a way to mend over time, no matter how much it aches at the beginning.

You did your best to teach me compassion, a lesson I try to remember everyday, especially when the urge to condemn and be judgemental threatens to bubble up to the surface.  

You taught me to reject negativity at all costs. Friends included. Close friends included.

And you taught me the importance of treating others with respect and dignity. No one person is more inherently important than any other. We only separate ourselves based on how we choose to use our time on this earth.

Most of all, 2016, you taught me that the surest way to reveal the best version of myself - the Ryan who would make my mother proudest, who would be a model husband and father and who would contribute to the world in a meaningful, inspiring and healthy way – is to constantly go into the deep and seek out the truest, fullest, rawest experiences I can possibly have. In doing so, I know that there will be some tears and pain and aching, but you showed me in ways that I cannot deny, that the best kind of pain is growing pain.

For this I am grateful. Salute.

xx

RK