First off, thank you. To everyone and everything that shaped me this year. To all of the heartbreaks, heartaches, headaches, stomachs after eating way too much and enjoying it just as much. I say thank you because I am not running from this past year. I am glad it happened. I'm glad that all of the ups and downs happened with suspense and surprise like a rollercoaster. I'm not going to say "new year, new me" because let's be honest it is going to take a little more than just the clock changing from 11:59 to midnight for me to be a completely new person. But I don't know who needs to hear this but let me tell you some appropriate New Year Resolutions. This year should be filled with the following: laughter, crying unapologetically, trying new things, talking to new people, actually sending the text messages that took hours to draft you to know the ones that happen a little like--delete, rewrite, delete again, just to send a "hi". If you want to go to the gym, go to the gym. Do it for yourself and not to prove something to anyone that has ever commented on your body. This is a year for the self. For putting yourself first, loving yourself first, taking care of yourself first, checking up on yourself first. A year of sacrifice and journey. A year of just being you and being utterly unapologetic about it. This year will be cutting the lines that people have started for your attention, making you the first person that is tended to. This year will have shameless, dancing. Playlists that you spend weeks on because it takes time to develop something so beautiful and personal. This year will be a year for letting go. Let go of the girl that screwed you over or the boy who didn't deserve you in the first place or the ex that never really seems to go away. Time to let go of that effort it takes to be mad and hurt. Time to take back your voice, your spirit, your soul, will, happiness. Time to spend energy on the people that spend energy on you. It's time to stop saying sorry for things that you do to make you happy. You owe don't them your time if they just plan on wasting it. It is a damn good time to do anything that you haven't because of fear. Cut your hair, dye it, hell don't wash it for two weeks if that's what makes you happy. Wear that outfit that makes you feel like the warrior you are. This is the year where we take "New Year, new me" and turn it into "New Year, same me just an altered, happier, better version."