For me, making a New Years Resolution is always counter-productive. I say I'm gonna lose weight, but then I eat a cupcake and then, "Welp, already fucked it up. Better wait 'til next year." For whatever reason, my brain doesn't commit to resolutions. So this year, I'm doing things a little differently. I'm winging it. I have an idea of the person I'd like to be in 2018, and the goal is to work towards that, but I'm not going to make "resolutions."

I'm setting long-term goals instead of, "This is what I need to be doing RIGHT THIS MINUTE! It's 2017, and I am somehow MAGICALLY CAPABLE of doing all of these things that are actually very difficult and literally can't happen overnight." Change takes time. Personally, I can't just stop on a dime and change my entire life. It never works for me. Slow and steady is going to have to win this race, otherwise I'll burn myself out in a week.

Instead of "You have to lose 30 pounds THIS YEAR," it's, "Try to adapt a healthier lifestyle over time." Instead of, "You NEED to land a National Commercial THIS YEAR," it's, "I'm going to walk into every audition with my best foot forward and see what happens." Instead of, "The apartment is going to be SPOTLESS at ALL TIMES this year," it's, "Try to find places for everything, and try to make sure they end up there when you're done with them."

The plan this year is to set my goals, but not get discouraged if I don't accomplish them in exactly a year. If I don't lose the "right" amount of weight, I'll continue the idea into 2018. If my acting still isn't where I'd like it to be, I'll audition and take acting classes into 2018. Nothing NEEDS to be done this year.

I'm just going to try my best and see where this year takes me. After over a decade of not following through with my resolutions, it's time to re-evaluate.