Before the end of 2017, I was conflicted in terms of what I should do with my New Year’s Resolution. I didn’t want to become a cliche and have resolutions and not even start them.

So I decided that I should start my resolution before the new year and start 2018 on a fresh slate and continue moving forward. However, this was not so much of an easy task, as for I planned out a list of 18 things I wanted to do before 2018 and continue on doing.

1. Get Rid Of Toxic People

I think for the first stop on the list was one of the hardest to do. Everyone in life has a toxic friend or at least is involved with toxic people. This can be a hard lifestyle to cope with, as for you either don’t know how toxic that person or people are until the last minute. I, for one, have had an abundance of toxic people in my life and I figured, I should leave them in 2017 as the saying goes. Life is too precious to have toxic people in it, you should have people build up you and bring out positive energy. Not have people suck the life out of you.

2. Try To Be Productive

I think a lot of people have this problem, and I for one am someone who cannot stay in the limelight and do absolutely nothing. I gotta keep moving forward, and constantly do something or else my mind would go nuts.And I think a lot of people have this issue but don’t know what to do in terms of solving it. So I decided to look for new hobbies and activities to preoccupy my mind, especially through the winter break. So I took up playing guitar and trying to learn on my own. I even read more throughout the course of the break and still am now. Occupying my mind and self with things that can flourish me in the future.

3. Focus On My Own Agendas

I think when it comes to today’s society we tend to procrastinate a lot, and with that, we never get what we need to get done, done. So I tried to keep my priorities in line and focus on what’s important. As for one, of the main activities was to continue onward with this list and try to better myself for the new year. As well as getting simple chores and errands done instead of wasting time on my phone or doing absolutely nothing.

4. Make Future Plans

I don’t know about you, but vacationing is one of my favorite things to look forward to when the start of the new year comes around. So with that being said, I decided to make plans to travel. Go places I’ve never been and go explore. I want to go through the year differently than the past years and go out there and have an adventure. Whether it’s traveling across the U.S and going from East Coast to West Coast or to foreign lands, I want to explore. And I think everyone should at some point during the year. Grab some friends and get out there!

5. Spend Time With Those Who Want to Be With You

This part of the list can be argued to be the same as number one, but hear me out. Cutting off toxic people is different from being with people who want to be with you. Spending time with people who want to be with you means, spending time with friends and family who choose to be with you. People who are eager to see you and get excited when you’re around and invite you to gatherings. Or people who are eager to call you for anything and want to see you, people who you call home.

6. Try To Make Amends

Honestly, I was conflicted with this addition to the list at first. I wasn’t too sure about setting aside my pride but I couldn't back down. I had to start the year fresh and continue moving forward throughout the year. So I took the liberty of trying to reach out to people I’ve done wrong over the years and tried to patch things up and admit to my faults and atone for them. Not going to lie, some people weren’t too thrilled but as the days progressed those who I’ve done wrong changed their minds and gave me chances. And as of now, things are great between them and I and I haven’t felt better.

7. Sleep More

This I couldn’t stress enough, over the course of the semester, I couldn’t sleep. Nor could I maintain a proper sleep schedule. I was awake when I shouldn’t have been, and asleep when I should've been awake. My eyes had more bags than a Christmas shopping spree. But I made it my resolution to sleep more and catch up on my sleep. It’s still hard now to do so, but I try. Everyone’s gotta sleep sometime!

8. Appreciate The Finer Things In Life

This one speaks for itself, you should enjoy life’s little wonders. Things that make you content like the small things like life, friends, and family. Life doesn’t last forever, so appreciate all that you got and be grateful for what you got.

9. Realized That Things Happen & Let Stuff Go

In a previous article of mine, I’ve mentioned that I realized that things in life happen and that I shouldn’t hold on to it. I still abide by this to this day, and I think everyone at some point should hold up to this. Things that are unfortunate cannot be changed and life moves on, and you should too. Don’t let negative outcomes and problems negate your life. You should move on. Move forward and think of the future. Keep pushing for a brighter day.

10. Try New Experiences

Aside from the whole future plans section, I placed this here because I feel as if I would constantly do the same thing day in and out. Personally, I want to do something new, and slowly I’ve been able to hold up to this resolution. I’ve tried going to the city (New York) on my own and alone and roam around for fun. Going out to secret venues and parties, or even doing new things at home. For example, I’ve never done Secret Santa before, and during the course of the winter break, I was able to try it with my friends and have a great time. I even tried to do astral projection lucid dreaming for the first time and felt refreshed afterward.

11. Catch Up With Old Friends

During the time of making amends, I took the moment to reach out to old friends from middle and high school that I’ve lost contact with. I took the chance to catch up and even have lunch with some of them. Reminiscing about the past and how life used to be, having a feel-good nostalgic moment and having a great time. As I continue to keep contact with them.

12. Catch Up On Shows I Haven’t Been Able To See

This is something I have had to put on my list before my friends killed me for it. I can now admit that I am pop culture ignorant for not catching up on shows and movies that everyone’s already seen. So I took the chance to do so, from finally watching "Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them" (yes I’m that late), or even shows like "My Hero Academia" to "Doctor Who". This also meant that I could sit back and relax for a bit before I go back on to the grind of following up with my resolutions.

13. Try To Be More Humble

I placed this here because I felt that throughout the course of the year, I felt more on edge and stressed out. This I felt, made my character very tempered and constantly feeling angsty and nervous. So I decided that not only should I do this, but others as well should try to take it easy and be more happy and humble. Don’t be a grouch, go out and be nice and humble. Life’s filled with angry people and hate to be upset and mad.

14/15. Do Things I Want To Do/ Say No To Things That Aren’t Okay

I don’t just speak for myself here, but I feel as if everyone should do what they want to do. I spent a lot of my time doing things I didn’t want to do but did for the hell of it and because everyone else egged me on to join them and honestly I shouldn’t have done that. Now I’m not saying it was peer pressure, it was more like going to events or hanging with people I didn’t really want to see nor hang out with. Instead, I should start doing what I want to do, and if people don’t like that, then oh well. Like I’ve said, spend time with people who want to be with you. Nonetheless, I should say no to doing things that aren’t okay or makes not only me uncomfortable but others as well. In today’s society, people take no too lightly and don’t bound by the idea of consent. And that can be taken to any length, consent to do anything is a big deal, whether it’s getting into an activity you don’t want to be a part of, or being with people you’re not okay with. Do what you want to do.

16. Try To Jump Back Into My Artistic Side

As an artist, I find it difficult to get back into the swing of things when you don’t do things in a while. And to be quite honest, I haven’t been able to be artistic for a while. Although I did take art courses during the previous semester they felt rather forced and didn’t help me expand my own line of creativity and do exactly what I wanted to do. As for I’ve been neglecting my pursuit of poetry and neglected my pursuit of doing art. This gave me a bit of a depression and I’ve wanted to get out of that funk and started doing so. Now lately I’ve felt more at ease with myself and feel as if I’m well balanced.

17. Writing Down What’s To Be Excited About In 2018

When looking towards 2018, what doesn’t come to mind when you think of the new year and what’s to come from it? Thinking on the behalf of the new year, I look forward to all of the new experiences that are to come. As a nerd, I look forward to many things like "Avengers: Infinity War," "The Incredibles 2," "Kingdom Hearts 3," "Stranger Things Season 3," and even season 4 of "Rick & Morty." Even as a music lover, I look forward to things like Dance Gavin Dance’s 9th Album coming up or the last Warped Tour. 2018 has a lot to offer and I honestly can’t wait.

18. Telling Myself That Everything Is & Going To Be Alright

Lastly, this one is important to me because many people even myself, go through many hardships. Life really likes to push you down and leave you on your knees and make you surrender. And although there have been times where I wanted to quit, I didn’t. Because I know that someday it’ll get better and everything's alright and everything is going to be alright. I think the only thing to truly remind me of this is the song, “Everything Is Alright” by Motion City Soundtrack. Definitely, give it a listen when you’re down, it makes me feel good, I doubt it won’t for others.

https://open.spotify.com/track/6xyiHZgrmXw7sMyYXbXjPV

So Cheers to the new year!