Today is the first day of 2026. 2025 and the many years back have been quite the learning experience for me. I have learned what needs to be done for me to stay well. I also know how to do the things I need and have to do. For over seven years, I have been on a long journey of self-discovery. This journey has made me more aware of how life should be. It also helped me understand what I need to do with my life and who I really am. I had to learn how to keep everything in balance. Last year, I worked in earnest to learn how to do just that!

For 2026, I understand that things are not like they were 2 years ago. They are also different from before that when there were many other circumstances. Indeed, things have changed and we have to accept and learn to adapt with them. Change is never easy for anyone. It is especially difficult when autism makes it challenging. You thrive on what you know best. But what I have been harboring in my mind no longer has any value nor is it valid. I must keep doing the hard work to let go of the past. In reality, it was never what it should have been.

Sometimes ruminations or looping thoughts keep appearing at times. This happens because you have heard them many times. It is also due to the way you think about them. This way of thinking can ease your mind of the stress about the situation that was once stressful. I have understood that my psychotropic medication helps take irritability away. It eases my mind into something more pleasant. Still, I need to put the past away as an emotion. I need to realize how I can thrive by knowing things are easier now. Much of the past is no longer on my worry plate.

With a new year, I need to think about a fresh start. I must consider how I handle myself and carry myself in the public eye. I now realize that I know more than most people. I understand the expectations when I go to certain places. I also know where my role lies within. I also now understand what I am to do and where I am to do it. I understand that with the changes in the past year, people have changed. So, the old ways of acting must cease. There will no longer be as much leniency or latitude as there has been in the past.

I am letting go of the blame games. I am stopping making excuses for the way that I conduct myself. I need to think before putting what I put to action. I have been working extremely hard to solve problems I had in the past. Part of that is starting this year with a fresh mind. I am letting go of all the internal hatred I have at things that no longer exist. It’s more about bouncing back from the adverse moments that I experience. I strive to be the true leadership that I have the qualities to become. By leading by example, I will show and mentor others. Doing what is right will guide me to destinations in my life where I can thrive. This will prevent me from staying in the same old cycle that I had never seemed to get out of.

2026 provides an opportunity to start off right and get out of those cycles once and for all. It has the potential to reach where I dare to dream. I must allow myself to pursue it. I need to continue doing what is necessary to get there. I can achieve this by being the person I need to be because I know I can.