For so long, I was so afraid of seeing who I truly was. I was afraid of owning my passions and gifts. I was afraid of failure, of disappointment, of the unknown. But there came a point where I was pissed off with how I was treating myself: downplaying my talents, denying my passions, and actively holding myself back from true fulfillment and happiness.

Here’s to 22. 

22, the year I fell in love— a love so deep, so true, so raw that I realized humans are never meant to do life alone. The year I broke hearts, the year I got my heart broken. 

22, the year I stepped out in boldness and decided to stop living in the shadow of fear. Faith instead of fear. A life guided by love. 

22, the year I looked deep within, and stared my darkest insecurities in the eyes. The year I shone light into the dark and dissolved the many obstacles encroaching on my growth. The year I learned exactly who Nicole Leung Albrecht is, and who she dreams to be.  

Forgiveness is the quintessential piece to living an unburdened, joyous life. Harboring resentment, bitterness, anger does nothing but corrupt your spirit. In those moments it is you fighting against yourself. You believing you deserve nothing but the best, meaning nothing terrible, nothing painful will ever happen to you, but you are only wishing for the inevitable to happen. Pain, sadness, disappointment is part of the human experience. We cannot experience love, joy, happiness without knowing what darkness, grief, and regret tastes like. 

So, I haven't posted on here for a while... whoops. It was intentional though-- the lack of posting. Things got a bit nuts for a while. Quick rundown of what happened since my first blog post (February 1st of this year):