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I’m thinking back to this time last year and what a shock to the system it was—everyone was suddenly at home, and many places were in lockdown.

I remember having colossal anxiety just making the grocery store trip and struggling with walking the neighborhood and having people crossing the road to avoid me; it was all so new and tumultuous.

Now, a year on, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here in Washington, people are slowly getting their vaccinations, and so many other parts of the country are opening their eligibility to all ages.

The kids are getting back to school. My daughter, a junior in high school, is excited to start back four days a week and have the social contact that is so important for mental health. Some businesses are opening again with the option of slowly going back to the office if they choose.

Like many of my clients, I find myself lamenting the positives of this past year and struggling with what the future will look like.

It’s been a blessing to be able to slow down, to get off the roller coaster of life, not to be overscheduled, and to be able to live the slower, simpler life that many of us crave. Much has been out of our control, but it’s a positive to have been able to get back to basics and make choices with the freedom of having time to do so.

I was reading an article the other day that many people have shifted their perception of exercise and how to stay healthy, going back to the basics of being outdoors, and not feeling the gym’s intensity as the only way to keep fit. I know that the leisure industry retailers had a bumper year last year, and it was almost impossible to find a bicycle to purchase by the summer.

So now we can see that the next new normal is looming. What does that look like for you? Do you feel concerned and perhaps anxious that you will be swept back into a life that you don’t want? You experienced the busyness of life before COVID-19 that left you feeling exhausted every day and rushing from one commitment to the next, not enjoying anything.

Perhaps you enjoyed your time at home alone before, and even with the family getting back to school and work some of the time, you don’t feel it will be the same. Or, on the other side of the coin, you have enjoyed having everyone around you and are worried that loneliness will be a problem now.

Perhaps you have been alone this past year, struggling, and now you can see that your options will open up during this year, but how do you start to navigate your reentry into the world? It can feel overwhelming.

There has been and will be so much change to navigate, and there is no doubt about it: change is hard.

As a health and wellness coach, I have been only too aware of my client’s struggles this past year and now looking to the future. It’s been hard and will be challenging in different ways for everyone.

But know this, you don’t have to do it alone. Having someone to process our concerns and worries with, who will listen and not try to fix, allows us to find our own path toward a life we want to craft.

As a coach, I have my own experiences, but they are my own; your experiences are your own. So I coach from the heart, without judgment, so that I can offer individualized support.

What do you need and want? What would your ideal life look like from now on? You have the chance to explore and make this reentry into this new life smooth and exciting, and above all, your own.

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