This Year I Learned

We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us a story. To leave a message, call 314-643-6152. Tell us: What did you learn in 2015? A project of The Washington Post. All messages | About this project | The Washington Post on Tumblr

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Call and tell us your story! 314-643-6152.

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Leave us a message. 

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TTY(I)L

Thank you to all of you who called/listened/shared. Pour through more lessons on courage, failure, fear and love  —  and let us know what messages spoke to you.

And now, onward! To 2016! 

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

Hi, my name is Mike. I'm 22 years old. And the biggest thing that I learned in 2015 is that if you want to love, you have to love bravely and honestly. I ended a relationship this year that was at times fulfilling and chaotic and tumultuous and crazy and wonderful and just this crazy set of emotions that I felt on a daily basis. And just a few months ago we ended that relationship. I held back a lot of things that  probably should have been said sooner rather than later, and I wish that I was brave enough to have those conversations, to be courageous and to speak my mind and my heart and work it outside instead of holding it back. Love's requires bravery. It requires honesty. The bravery to be wrong. The courage to be vulnerable, to be truthful to who you are and ti what you want, to what you expect. Love needs those things to grow. So the biggest thing I've learned in 2015: I learned that the next time I fall in love, the next time I do anything, that I will be brave. Brave enough in myself, brave enough to trust the other person. Thanks.

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

Hi, my name is Lexi. What I learned this year was comparing yourself to others could quite possibly destroy you. You just have to focus on your personal growth and that’s it. Yeah.

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson. 

Hey, my name is Gia and the biggest lesson I learned in 2015 is that trust is way more significant than loving somebody.

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

In 2015 I learned that sometimes you just have to keep going. It was a tough year for me. My dad was very sick. In February, after eight years living on my own, I left a job and a city I loved and moved across the country back in with my parents at 26. I started a new job that I didn’t like and shortly after moving, my boyfriend of four years and I broke up. My dad, in desperate need of a liver transplant, got worse and worse to the point where he could barely move. And we thought we were going to lose him. In July, after four calls for livers, all false alarms, my dad finally got his liver transplant. His first surgery was 14 hours. They operated a total of three times. And he spent two weeks in the intensive care unit and two weeks in rehab. When he first got to rehab he couldn’t walk and thought he might never walk again. Today, five months to the day post-surgery, he walks four miles a day and at 67, he feels younger than ever. This has been the biggest blessing of my life, to have dad back. Around the same time as his surgery, I was offered a new job where I’m happy. A few months after surgery, I moved into my own apartment 45 minutes from my parents. This year I learned that truly, the only way out is through. At times it feels like you’re stuck in a hole, that it’s deeper and deeper and you have no idea how you’ll be able to get out. And all of a sudden, you’re out. And life gets better, and you appreciate all the good in your life like you’ve never been able to before. Happy New Year.

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

Hi, My name is Deanna, and this year, 2015, I have learned that you have permission to rest and that you're not responsible for fixing everything that is broken, and that you don't have to try to make everyone happy and for now you just need to take time for you and replenish yourself, and be happy with who you are. Love yourself.

[thisyearilearned]

We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

Visit Original Link

We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

Hi, my name is Amber, and I'm 18 years old and something I learned in 2015 is that you can't wait around for people to change. And I learned this the hard way. I always had optimism that people changed and sometimes you should, but you should only wait around for people to change if you're willing to have the repercussions of what they're going to do. You can't anticipate somebody's going to change out of mere hope. You have to have hope that they will change, and if you don't have hope they're changing, and you only have hope that they will, then you shouldn't count on it. I think it'll save you a lot of hard feelings, so you'll feel later on. And it's something I learned 2015. And it's not really sad. It's more of a good thing that I learned this because in the future I'm going to make sure that I'm not going to wait around for people to change if I don't think they will. Thank you. Goodbye.

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We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

[thisyearilearned]

Visit Original Link

We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.

Hi, my name is Gracie and what I learned in 2015 is that you don't always need a reason to do something. People always ask you why you're doing something, but what I learned is sometimes you just feel that it's right and that's the biggest reason that you do something. And it's not all about pleasing people and giving them what they want. Sometimes you just have to do something for yourself. And I learned that about halfway through the year, and that changed so much. And it's something that I wish a lot more people knew, so yeah. I hope that you guys can take that into this new year.

[thisyearilearned]

We asked people to leave us a voicemail and tell us what they learned in 2015. Call 314-643-6152 to share your lesson.