It's weird the topic of letting go makes me so emotional. I feel this way because I am in a period of my life where letting go defines my situation and circumstances.

I have been practicing letting go since I moved to Chicago in 2013. I say practicing because I have yet to perfect it. Moving to Chicago was easily the most terrifying thing I had done up until that point in my life. I was letting go my life in Oklahoma, my comfortable house and my car to move to the big city and live in a dorm and take the public transportation everywhere. This was quite an adjustment, and I struggled through my first year in the city.

Eventually I got comfortable with my new situation just in time to move into my own apartment. This was phase two of letting go- letting go of roommates. I lived with the same girl for two years before moving out of the dorms and living alone. This was another practice in letting go of the comfort.

So time went on and I got comfortable living alone, I got a dog and had friends over occasionally and everything worked out. And then I graduated and entered the part of my life where I had to let go of my financial safety net.

I moved into a smaller place that I could pay for myself (barely) and started working my first salaried job. This job has been the biggest practice of letting go, - because it has made me let go of expectations. All my life I expected that if I did the right things and worked hard, I would be able to live comfortably. Right now, I'm working a job that often keeps me there upwards of 70 hours a week. I am doing everything I can to be successful, I have my MA from a good school, and I have work experience with reputable companies, and I still can barely afford to live here.

I have had to let go what I thought my life would/should be like because that's just not the reality of my situation right now. This is incredibly challenging because it's so easy to look around and see what others have that I don't. I am still in the period of my life that is defined by letting go, and it's important because out of letting go, I have gained so much strength as a person. Each of these moments of letting go that I have mentioned have defined my next step towards success, and I would not be the same person without them.

Letting go can be uncomfortable, but it is incredibly necessary to helping you learn and grow as a person. As you grow up, you will experience these times and in the moment, it might make you upset that you have to let go of comfort to learn. Looking back on it, you will realize that that was a milestone in your life and it changed you. You have to let go of some things to make room for new experiences in your life.

-          Bria