Jamaican YouTuber Tami Chin Mitchell is celebrating a year of quitting her smoking addiction. In an emotional post on Instagram on Monday, the

“I was a smoker for most of my life and in more recent years, I smoked hard. I really didn’t know myself without a cigarette. I smoked for every occasion; happy, sad, angry, hungry, full, celebration, stress, grief, excitement, etc.,” she wrote.

She continued; “quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life and if you have ever broken any addiction, you will understand. But it is also one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve had to redefine who I thought I was in so many ways because it was wrapped up in so many parts of my life. I used to say I was a recovering addict but now, I say I’m a non-smoker because that small shift helps me to stand in a different part of myself.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tami Chin Mitchell (@tamichinmitchell)

Her caption was accompanied by a video she recorded on the day she decided to quit smoking altogether. In the emotional video, Mitchell detailed how her first day had gone during which, she started crying.

“I woke up feeling pretty good because I was kinda just energized by the thought of not smoking. And I had a phone call to do, and I don’t know why but that whole conversation just made me cry and I’ve felt very emotional since,” she said.

But looking back at that video, she had a message for herself.

“I want to hug her so badly. I want to tell her that it’s gonna be a hard year (in more ways than one) and that there are gonna be days when she won’t even want to leave her room. But I also want to let her know that slowly but surely, she will get to know a new version of herself, and that she’s gonna one day feel free. I wanna tell her that for everything she thinks she losing, she’s gonna gain so much and quite simply, I wanna tell her that she just can’t take that version of herself into the next level of her life.,” she wrote.

Mitchell also encouraged others who may be struggling with an addiction.

“There is just no easy road, no quick fix. But here’s what I know, it’s never gonna be the right time and with help and support, you can literally change your life.”