I think I may be getting better at this whole "letting it go" thing.

A year to the date of a very important event in my life (February 26, to those of you who are curious), I went to church. And on this particular day in 2012, I received a message that was a direct punch in the face from God Himself. Not a demeaning pinch by any means, but a "Marissa, you've GOT to get over this" punch. Because the message in church that day (and I am quoting this DIRECTLY) was "Get Over It!". God did not build us to be easily crushed or broken hearted. He gave us a will strong enough to surpass any obstacles that He sent our way, and a heart overflowing with so much love that we couldn't help but want to love others, even when it meant hurting ourselves in the process.

I'm not the same person that I was a year ago. A year ago, I was pretty broken. I'll spare you all of the boring details. Long story short, I got too attached waaaayy too fast, and then they were gone, taking a lot of never-to-be-fulfilled promises with them. I was worried about whether or not I'd get into my one and only college of choice. And of course, competition season was at a high point, with TFA state, UIL of every name, shape, and form, the national qualifier, and the Tournament of Champions right around the corner. I was a hot mess.

And somehow I made it through just fine. Although I held a grudge against someone who'd hurt me, I went to state, and Nats, and the TOC, and I kicked as much ass as I could. I like to think of those as my glory days. Oh yeah, I got into college sometime during all of that too, do that was pretty cool.

And now here I am, a year later, far from being broken. Because you know what? It only took one year and a lot of pain, but I finally got over it. I'm allowing myself to understand that what happened was not a mistake. It was nothing but an obstacle that I eventually overcame, and it lead me to nothing but blessings. 2011 sucked a little bit. But 2012 is going pretty well, and I'm not complaining.

If you're reading this, I love you. Chances are, you are a reason that I've finally decided get over it.

And to the rest of the world: letting go is not easy. It could take a year. It could take 5 or 10 or 15. But trust me. It's completely worth it.