Happy New Year!
People always look at me a little funny when I tell them that New Year's Day is my favorite holiday. Now, don't get me wrong. I love Christmas and all holidays really, but New Year's Day takes the cake. Everyone is still filled with Christmas joy, the lights and trees are still up, everything is sparkly and fresh, and the entire holiday is just tinged with hope and anticipation.
Resolutions for the upcoming year always come with the holiday, but they set you up to fail.
Total lifestyle changes or quitting something cold turkey is not setting yourself up for success. So, this year I am not setting up a "new year, new me" type regimen. I simply want to be happier. I want to set up new intentions and goals for a more fulfilling and present life. I want to check things off my bucket list and make memories with my friends. I want to learn to love myself and my life a little bit more.
Instead of setting a singular goal that I will lose interest in by February, I am challenging myself to simply be the main character in my own life.
I want to strengthen my relationships and quit waiting for the next phase of my life to start enjoying it. These are specific things I'll be doing to work towards my goal, but overall it's how I want to love my life, and you can too.
1. I will take a photo every time I get together with a friend.
The photo doesn't have to be Instagrammable and we don't have to be looking great, but I want to be able to look back on the memories. Whether it's two months or twenty years from now, I want to remember how much fun we had. I want to focus not only on the times we looked good, but the times we shared.
2. I want to say yes more.
I have spent much of my teen years and college experience working every spare minute. With the way things are now, I have a little more freedom with my schedule, and I want to use it wisely. Anything I can to do, I'm going to do. From trips to volunteering, or even just going out to dinner, I want to spend more time experiencing the world. I want to experience life in a COVID-friendly way with people who matter to me, instead of waiting table six nights a week.
3. I want to step back from technology.
Now, I'm not crazy. I know that technology is ever-present in our present-world, and I have a major TikTok addiction. I want to step back a bit and put all the hours I spend staring at my phone to better use. I feel like this is a simple intention. I'm not saying I won't attend Zoom calls or reply to emails, but all those hours I spend mindlessly scrolling through TikTok and Instagram are hours I could spend reading or doing other things I enjoy without my phone in hand.
These things may not seem like much, but they're a start.
I don't want to completely change my life, but I simply want to appreciate what I have. 2020 was not a year we'll soon forget, but I want 2021 to be equally unforgettable for me personally, in an extremely positive way.
