So the New Year has officially dawned upon us and now is the time that everybody begins exclaiming, sharing, and posting their New Year Resolutions. We have all the classics; to eat better, go to the gym more, increase one’s productivity. Although these are all fantastic goals and aspirations, let’s be honest, they are all just things we should be doing on a daily basis anyway.

On a more serious note, I would like to add that I am in no way against setting goals and resolutions for yourself. I think they’re great, they allow us to become inspired, as to how long that inspiration lasts varies from person to person. Resolutions are healthy and occasionally necessary and that is why this year, unlike years past, I’m actually setting a goal for myself: stop taking other people’s bullshit and focus on myself. To me, 2017 is the year to truly better not only my body and mind, but also my soul. Just like a majority of others, 2016 beat the shit out of me too.

A lot happened last year that has changed me and shaped me as a person: I studied abroad in Spain, I transitioned from high school to college, and I’ve let go of, and also met, a couple of incredibly important people in my life. Everything I just mentioned impacted me in some way, mainly positive, but some negative. The only problem here is that in 2016 all these life changes and experiences were largely from or with other people. And what I’ve realized from reflecting on the past year is that I tried too hard to be with others and completely ignored the virtues of independence.

So that’s my goal for this year. Other than my immediate family and my small handful of true friends, everyone else has become irrelevant; and I’m not meaning this to be rude or indignant. It is simply that in the past I have been putting too much focus on others and depriving myself of my own attention. I worried about other’s perceptions of me and I tried much to hard for the affection of both boys and friendships alike. But in 2017, no more. Sure, I’ll aspire to go to the gym at least four times a week and promise to have a serving of veggies at every meal, but my main focus is on bettering myself as a whole, without the help or influence of anyone else.

Goodbye and good riddance.