Welcome to 2017, lovelies!! I know that 2016 may have seemed like an eternity — and it was a leap year, so it was extra long — but the good news is that WE MADE IT THROUGH 2016!

Aaannndd... We’re on our way to another year.

Now before you go getting all worried on me, wondering what 2017 has in store, I want you to take a look at yourself. Go ahead. Do it. Look in the mirror.

Wow, you’re a cutie. I’m glad you’re coming to 2017 with me. (If you think about it, we’re moving to another year and that makes us time travel buddies! We’re basically Marty and Doc at this point.) Okay, now that we’ve got the formalities out the way, and since you know you can trust me because I’m from the future, I have some things I need to tell you right now!

1. You SHOULD make New Year's resolutions even if you think you won't keep them.

Creating resolutions helps you put into perspective the person you are now and the person you want to develop into. Let’s be honest, no one is perfect so there are always things we can work on.

2. Make sure your resolutions are YOUR CHOICE.

I think that it’s common for people to commit themselves to resolutions that they think they’re supposed to do. I can’t tell you how many times I told myself I was going to lose a certain amount of weight even though I was comfortable with my weight and didn’t particularly feel like I needed to change it.

3. Find a way to push yourself without tiring yourself out.

New habits and routines are hard enough to adjust to as it is, there’s no need to give yourself ridiculous deadlines and expectations; push yourself to a place that seems challenging but possible.

4. Remember that “New Years” happen all the time.

While this mark is special because there will never be another “2017,” there are so many different calendars and traditions around the world that a new year happens more frequently than you might think. Take for example Chinese New Year, which falls on January 28 in 2017, or Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year — which starts on September 20. The point is, the New Year is just motivation, but you can change your life at any time.

5. It’s okay and even necessary to feel your feelings.

Are you afraid and unsure right now? Me too! That’s why we’re time travel buddies! Faced with perhaps the grandest fear of them all — the unknown — we are more than entitled to feel worried and unsure, but learning to indulge, understand and then let go of our feelings is important so that we don’t become weighted down by them.

6. YOU are in control of your own life.

I know that the waters may seem shaky right now, and it’s worrisome to not have control, but you honestly have so much more power than you probably give yourself credit for in how you choose to act and react to the things life presents you with. Even in a difficult situation, you have the choice to choose one way, or another.

What will you choose for yourself in 2017?