As the New Year revs into full swing, I'd like to call to attention the ways in which we value each other in today's world. The average New Year's resolution focuses on self-improvement. After all, that is the point of making New Year's resolutions. However, the stereotypical New Year's Resolution that everybody seems to accept as a default resolution focuses on self-improvement in the form of weight loss and healthy lifestyles in the pursuit of a "hot body."

I, for one, am all for a healthier lifestyle. Living a life full of balanced diet and exercise is a wonderful life, especially in a world where this particular way of life has been scorned as "boring" and "impossible." However, a life of misery and self-destruction that ironically results from this pursuit of happiness and self-improvement is not something that I can get behind.

We take everything for face value and that's not okay. Since when does it really matter what size jeans you wear? When did the number on a scale matter more than how happy you are? When did "skinny" become a synonym for "worthy?" Who really cares how straight your hair is, how perfect your makeup is, how "flawless" your body looks? Why do the brands of your clothes matter more than the genuine nature of the smile that you wear on your face? Since when do appearances matter more than personality and happiness? Why have we decided, year after year, to prioritize what others think of us, based on the way we look, over how we feel about ourselves?

I propose that we all vow to make 2017 the year in which we stop tearing ourselves down for what we are not. Instead, I propose that we resolve to dedicate our actions and thoughts to building ourselves up for what we are.

Sure, you can still make improvements on little things and dress up if you feel like it but don't let the days when it's not possible or you just don't want to bring you down. If you're out with friends and family, enjoy the little treats that these things bring in moderation. I promise you, it will be okay in the long run. Monitor yourself and moderation is a wonderful thing.

Don't worry that you're "not good enough" because I'll tell you right now: no matter who you are, what size jeans you wear, what race you are, what age you are, what color hair you have...you are good enough. Nobody is perfect and we aren't supposed to be! It's the little imperfections that make the world such an interesting place to live in.

In the upcoming year, I charge you to think about one good thing every day. Maybe something good that happened to you, something that made you smile. Perhaps it's something you could do for somebody else that made both of you smile.

Think about the things that you love about yourself instead of picking apart every little thing that you aren't exactly pleased with. Finding love with the person you are in the process of improvements is the healthiest way to create positive change.

Health isn't limited to what we eat, how much we exercise, and how we stack up against each other. Individual happiness, often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the "new year, new me" upswing, is often overshadowed and that needs to stop.

Make 2017 the year of you, the year you love yourself and find true happiness. Find your personal happiness, not in how society defines it but in the ways that you define it.