Dear 2018,
I'm going to be honest: I never planned on writing this letter to you. I felt like there'd be nothing to say when you were over. You never screwed me over like 2017 did, so there was no reason to send you a Howler like I sent 2017 a year ago. Then I realized I should acknowledge the good things in life more often. There were plenty of those in the 12 months we spent together, so here I am today, writing you a letter to say thank you.

Thank you for letting me catch my breath. In a way, you were uneventful. Exactly what I needed after the rollercoaster of 2017. I needed some time to reorganize my life, my thoughts, everything. I'll admit that I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, but at least I'm not down in the dumps anymore. All because you didn't throw one life-changing event after the other at me. At some point, you started to drag a bit, but looking back on it all, everything worked out exactly the way I wanted and needed it to work out.

Thank you for second chances. Although I know that going back to university was completely up to me, I feel like you made it easier on me. Once my job as a translator became boring (yay for computers taking over my work!), it was so much easier to return to education and it made me so much more determined to get a degree and make something out of myself. Utrecht University is a great place and I felt right at home from the start. There are so many interesting courses to take and I'm glad you allowed me to follow this path, 2018!

Thank you for all the adventures. I may have called you uneventful, but at times, we did go on great adventures together. Not all of them were huge adventures abroad: Going to a football match with my friend Stefanie was an adventure too! I explored Düsseldorf and the touristy part of Amsterdam with my boyfriend. And of course, I have to mention my trip to Cuba, the Palestinian Territories, Israel and Jordan. I saw so many amazing places that I've been dying to visit... It's almost unbelievable.

Thank you for the adrenaline rushes. I can still feel my heart beating against my ribs from the time I climbed to an illegal viewpoint in Jordan. Or that time when I decided to take my longboard down one of the very few hills in my country even though I'd only been practicing going in a straight line for a week. Adrenaline rushes were rare during your 365 days, 2018, but when they came, they were just too good.

Thank you for all the new experiences. I got to meet so many bloggers or met up with others for the second time. I did my first ever sponsored post in Amsterdam. I saw Banksy's work on the West Bank Barrier, where I learned so much about the situation in the Palestinian Territories by talking to locals. I lived alone for a month. I actually managed to keep a houseplant alive for more than two months! 2018, you taught me so many good things.

There's only one thing I won't thank you for: The wisdom teeth situation. 2018, you were definitely the Year of the Wisdom Teeth. My dentist noticed the problem in April, the first operation took place in July, that wound got infected in August and the antibiotics they gave me to fight the infection caused a chemical imbalance better known as clinical depression. I'm eternally grateful that my depressed episode lasted no longer than two months, but I know things could have been much worse. The second operation took place in November. Again, I faced complications because the roots were too close to nerve endings. This time everything went right. Still, I won't thank you for that, 2018!

But seriously, thank you for everything else. You won't go down in my personal history as the most exciting year ever, but you were just what I needed. You were good to me. I wonder if 2019 will follow your example, but I'm not going to worry about it. We'll see what happens. I'm sure it's going to be a good one, especially after you helped me get back on my feet!