Each New Year starts off the same, a set of resolutions crafted by each individual, with hopes of becoming exactly who they wish to be. To no longer procrastinate, to work out, eat healthy, stop overthinking, be productive, get that new job, be yourself, stop being judgemental, etc. etc. I have participated in this long-standing tradition since as long as I can remember, and my resolution is often broken before the first month ends. I'm sure this is the case for many. But, why must a new year mark the start of being exactly who you want to be?

Drop your resolutions, and just be. If you decide you want to get in shape or quit that bad habit, do it then and there. You don't need to wait until the New Year to transform yourself. New years resolutions are excuses to hold off doing or becoming what or who you want. Maybe you don't want to start out of fear that you will lose before you even get started, or you lack faith in yourself, or you don't know how to start. Stop calling it a "New Years Resolution," you don't need to label your journey of bettering yourself.

Make a conscious effort each and every day to be the best version of yourself, and if you aren't happy, change it. It is never easy changing your routine or habits, but nobody ever said life was easy, and you will spend your whole life unhappy if you keep saying you will start tomorrow or at the New Year. One of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite authors, Sylvia Plath, is that "The future is what matters - because one never reaches it, but always stays in the present." The future is now - today - if you don't start now, you will never get where you wish to be.

Please, let go of the label "new years resolution" and just live your best life, do not define your self-improvement to any single term. Don't allow yourself to set a
start or end date. Don't be afraid or discouraged when the road gets tough, it is never easy and it never will be. Change what you dislike and if you dislike something you can't change, then it is something to accept and may not even be a real problem. Do your best to be the person you are meant to be, and be the best version of yourself.

Happy New Year, I hope that each day you continue to set goals and set the "start" of those goals to today. There is no benefit in waiting until tomorrow to be who you want to be. I hope you live in your truest self in 2017, and each year to come.