On the first day, of the first month, of the new year, we come up with things called New Year's "resolutions." When we make these resolutions, we think our life will change for the better, but often these resolutions fade within the first month, if not weeks, into the new year. Well here is the thing: The year is 12 months, aka 365 days. That is such a long time, and can even seem daunting, when taking on the task of staying committed to our resolutions, but it can also mean that so much progress can be made, too.
Only four months remain in the year, and so much has happened in our lives since the first of the year. A whole semester has gone by, and who even knows how that went, and almost a whole summer has gone by.
In my life, I now have two new baby cousins, but I also had to say goodbye to a friend from high school -- just within two months. Life is always full of emotional ups and downs and we tend to get off track sometimes with our own goals and lose our resolutions quite quickly. But now that we are more than halfway through the "new year," which isn't so new anymore, I think we all need to look at our new year resolutions and see where we are with them.
The first of the year always seems to be focusing on us and bettering ourselves. This isn't a bad thing at all, and is certainly not selfish. It's basically just trying to become a better person and trying to fix the things we may not like. But we suddenly go back to work and school after the first of the year and we are so busy with work, schoolwork, clubs, family and friends that we tend to lose that focus on bettering ourselves. Now is the time for us to refocus and evaluate just how far we have come.
As summer is ending, maybe you could start to focus on the upcoming school year. If it was your resolution to go to the gym more, then start going when you get back to school in less than a month. After all, most schools tuition covers a free gym membership, so you might as well use it. Maybe it was your resolution to get better grades. Well, order those textbooks now and get a bit of a head start on your classes, so you know at least a little bit about what the professor is saying in class. Maybe it was your goal to join more clubs, and get more involved on your campus. Well, when you get back to school, sign up for a few things and start to put yourself out there more.
Whatever our original resolutions were, I think now is the time for us to refocus, and reflect on how our resolutions have developed and how they can only get better. Because regardless of all the ups and downs in life, we all deserve a break.
