When an unpredictable rainstorm swept through my town on the eve of my 23rd birthday, I thought it was unfortunate, but I didn’t let it get my spirits down. A couple months later, when my entire city and nearby towns completely lost electricity for multiple days in the thick of Texas’ summer, I tried to keep reminding myself, “I’m not the only one going through this.” However it was the fact that this mass power outage just so happened to occur over the same week that months before, I had pre-planned to release my debut book, that made it difficult to not question if this was more that just a stroke of bad luck.

If you know me, then you know I try to remain positive in any situation thrown my way. I’ve gone through too many trials and tribulations in my life to let the small inconveniences break me. A quote I still live by, five years after first introducing it on this very blog, is the words of Victor Frankl, who said “Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.” I cannot divine when a patch of rain will turn into a flood, I cannot control when strong winds will shut off electricity for thousands, nor for how long. What I can control, is the decision to remain positive in any given situation, to understand that all storms will eventually pass.

If this year has taught me anything, it’s that you can have everything planned out according to the way you hope things pan out, but things almost never actually happen in the precise way we would like. Expectations only lead to disappointment, so expect nothing. Do not fear the unexpected, for all you could ever dream of could just be awaiting you. Dream big, set goals, and work hard, but expect nothing. What’s meant for you, in time, shall be yours.

I used to dream of having my articles published by a big time company, or to have my works published on bookshelves across every bookstore. When I realized that this dream in reality was just too far beyond my reach, I redirected my focus and took matters into my own hands. This year, I self-published my very first book—something I never thought I was capable of doing. I can now say, “I am a published author”, because I stopped tying myself down to the expectations I had set upon myself.

So did I ever imagine I’d be celebrating my debut book’s release in the passenger seat of the car as we were going on almost three days without power, in the loosest-fitting close we could find to accommodate the Texas summer heat, just begging for one bar of service so I could share this moment with the world? Absolutely not. But I also never expected to see my name printed on the cover of a book. I never expected even one person would buy my works, but I made a promise to myself one year ago, and all of that—I accomplished in 2024.

So while I vow to free myself from the burden of expectations, I will continue to believe in the power of manifestation, I will keep faith in myself and continue to work hard to achieve everything I set upon in this life.