Christmas has finally come and gone, which now commences the race of finding the perfect sparkly outfit--that your date will kill you for--for all of the New Year's Eve celebrations! With a new year, comes new resolutions. Resolutions that we keep reinstating every year, in the hopes that one of these years it will finally catch on. Resolutions that make a statement about the type of person we are desperately trying to become within the ringing commencement of the New Year. These resolutions, and whether or not we keep our promise to them, sets the tone on the fresh start that is January 1st.

A few years ago, I made the proactive decision to stop making a list of New Year resolutions. Why should I partake in an archaic societal activity that dates back thousands of years, when its sole purpose is to set your New Year up for failure? New Year's should be an emblem for a blank slate and a new beginning, so why ruin it with a bunch of have-yet-to-be broken promises to yourself?

To me, making a New Year's resolution deliberately jinxes your chances of having a great year. Your standards and expectations start out high, but as soon as you give into temptation and ditch the resolutions, it's like a domino effect that ruins your whole year. You start to get angry with yourself that you couldn't even go two weeks with sticking to your resolutions, which only leads to blaming yourself for the crap-tastic start to your New Year. I mean, wasn't all of the past years supposed to be "the greatest year yet!"...that is until you broke your resolutions?

So in light of this revelation, I propose this...

Instead of stressing yourself out to follow a ridiculous set of rules that you mandated for yourself, how about you enter the New Year with a serendipitous attitude; opening yourself up for great things to come your way. Enjoy the infinite possibilities awaiting to dazzle your life, instead of worrying whether or not you are living up to your expectations.

So make this New Year's the best one yet, and throw out all of the standards. Be surprised by mystery and bask in the bliss of 2017! Who knows what can happen without the crippling pressure of resolutions--let's find out!