New beginnings are such a beautiful thing because even though they signify that one chapter has ended, they also remind us that the book shall continue with another chapter—one that’s hopefully better than the last. I know time is merely a construct created by humans, but I wholeheartedly believe in the goodness that a brand new year can bring.
Not all, but many of us can agree that 2016 was not our best year. Quite frankly, it seems to me that this past year was one of the worst not only for myself, but for countless other people I’ve talked to. Yes, 2016 did have it’s good moments, but the bad seemed to always outweigh the good. Yet despite the negativity it yielded for so many of us, there were many lessons to be learned. For me, I learned more about myself in 2016 than I ever did before, and I’m ready to harbor those lessons and hold them tight all throughout 2017.
20. I’m devoting this year to loving myself more
I don’t mean this in a selfish way, but I mean this honestly. Showing myself love doesn’t mean I’ll be committed to always putting myself first, but if 2016 taught me anything, it’s that I need to love myself. I cannot progress any further if I don’t love myself the way I should.
19. Remember to breathe
Breathe in, breathe out. All stress is temporary, even though it feels like it will last forever.
18. Take care of myself
I want to take nice warm showers every day, and curl up in my robe afterward. I want to seek refuge in my bed and go to sleep at reasonable hours so I can wake up feeling refreshed. At times this may be easier said than done, but I do want to try my very best to nurture myself.
17. “New Year” does not mean necessarily mean “New Me”
This year, I will not be “new.” I will simply be an improved version of my former self. To say I’ll be “new” makes me feel as if the “old” me wasn’t good enough. But that’s not true at all. I won’t be making any drastic changes to who I am as a person, but rather I’ll work on making the changes I want to see. I’ll focus on bettering myself in all the ways I see fit, like a metamorphosis that’s been long overdue.
16. A good book is great escape
I’ve always been a lover of reading, and 2016 taught me how important it is to remain in touch with my readerly-roots. No matter what, I want to remember this year that I can slip away into the world of a good book if I need to escape reality for a little while.
15. Opinions don’t define reality
There were times in 2016 when I thought that people’s opinions would break me. And I wasted so much of my valuable time sulking over the harsh things that were said to me—things about my weight, things about my major, and things about who I am as an individual. These opinions made me constantly question myself. But in 2017, I plan to remind myself that opinions aren’t what’s real.
14. Smiles are indeed contagious
This year, I’ll be sure to surround myself only with people who make me smile. Positive influences are incredibly important. How can I ever expect to find happiness within myself if I surround myself with people who make me cry and not smile? So I’m leaving that behind me in 2016, and only bringing what’s positive into the new year...and smiling spreads like wildfire if you allow it to.
13. My mother’s arms can fix just about anything
Nothing feels as good as folding myself into my mom’s loving embrace after a long day, when I have good news, when I’m upset, or just for the sake of feeling someone’s arms around me. And no matter what emotion I’m feeling, her arms can fix just about anything.
12. I’m capable of more things than I think I am.
In the past year, there were many times I doubted myself. Naturally, everyone does this from time to time. But in the new year, I want to continue to remind myself that I need to cut myself some slack, because I’m so much more capable of doing things than I give myself credit for. I want to sit back and be proud of all the things I accomplish.
11. I’ll regret the chances I don’t take
Taking chances is a part of life. And in 2016, I didn’t take nearly enough chances like I should have. Taking a chance and doing something reckless are two different things, and I’m quite capable of recognizing the difference. But for me, I want 2017 to be full of fun adventures, and the only way that’ll happen is if I take more of the chances I turned down in 2016.
10. Remain willing to meet new people
In life, people come and go. That is something 2016 taught me well. But I met so many wonderful people last year, and this is something I want to continue doing in the new year. So I want to stay social and keep making new friends in 2017!
9. Let it hurt. Then let it go.
Last year, there were so many times when I forced myself to feel numb inside so that I wouldn’t have to face my feelings. I worked hard to suppress my sadness because I didn’t want it to get the best of me. But because I bottled it up inside, I constantly felt as if I was denying myself of something important. 2016 taught me that if I’m feeling upset, I need to let it hurt. Because once I do that, then I can let it go.
8. Become healthy for myself, not for the stigma
It’s no secret that I want to become healthier in the new year. I worked incredibly hard last summer to be healthy, but certain circumstances in my life didn’t allow me to keep up with it. But now, I’ve made it one of my resolutions to get back on track and to not let anything get in my way this time. I’m feeling optimistic and ready to be healthy for my own sake, and not just because society says it’s the right thing to do.
7. Don’t be afraid to treat myself
I feel like there is always this unspoken disapproval from others when they hear you’ve gone out and spent money on yourself. And when I do this, I even tend to judge myself for it and become hardened to the idea of buying myself nice things when I should be saving my money. Obviously I’m not going to go out and blow all my money this year, but I want to remember that if I want to be kind to myself in 2017, then I shouldn’t feel bad doing so.
6. Music soothes the soul
Through all the ups and downs of 2016, music helped me get through everything. I have set songs that lift my spirits when I’m down, songs that calm me when I’m stressed, and songs that help keep me jovial when I’m having a good day. I plan to continue using the power of music to help me get through whatever 2017 has in store for me.
5. Wherever I am, be all there.
In this day and age, it’s so hard for us to give our undivided attention to someone or something, because odds are, you get easily distracted by your phone and the gravitational pull of social media. I too am a victim of this. But at the tail-end of 2016, I gave up social media for a few days, and I felt so connected to myself and the people around me when I did so. Of course, I don’t plan to cut social media out of my life this year, but 2016 taught me that I need to stop relying on it so much. If I’m busy doing something or having an actual conversation with someone, then Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat can wait until later, because it’s important for me to be all there, wherever I am.
4. Embrace change
2016 was full of changes I didn’t want to accept. I was too afraid to face the fact that my life was changing drastically, so I resisted it as hard as I could. But I was never more miserable in my life than when I was doing everything I possibly could to refuse the changes I had no control over. So at the end of the year, I realized change is necessary in order for things to get better, no matter how difficult it may seem. And how will I continue to grow in 2017 if I’m not willing to embrace the change?
3. Leave the toxicity behind me
This is probably one of the most defining parts of my list, and it’s pretty self-explanatory. I’m making the necessary changes in order to leave all toxic people and situations in 2016, and I refuse to let any of it interfere with the new year.
2. Hold on to my passions
In 2016 I found some new passions, and I lost some old ones. The ones I have right now are very important to me, and I want to hone in on them and continue building them up in this new year—without any outside influences working to tear them down.
1.This will only be “my year” if I’m willing to make it as such.
Everyone is saying that “2017 will be their year.” But this won’t come served to them on a silver platter if they don’t work for it. I know in my heart that I’m going to do everything in my power to make this my year, for myself. But I damn well know that this won’t happen if I just sit back and expect someone else to do it for me. Will it work out in my favor? I hope so, but there are no guarantees in life. This year will be my year because not only will I be willing to climb mountains, but I’ll be the one to move them, too. Thus, I’ll move forward in 2017 with the knowledge that this will indeed be my year because unlike so many others, I have another year ahead of me—a new beginning, another shot at making it all the way around the sun, and a chance to make it the best it can be this time around.
