Normally, New Years Resolutions happen Jan 1 but I thought why not make one for the start of a new school year. Most every year I tell myself this year is going to be different, better than the last; however there's one key component I forgot. I have to make a plan. I have realized recently I can't just expect things to magically happen themselves, I have to do something to work toward my goal. Hopefully by writing it out in words and putting it on the World Wide Web I will actually accomplish at least half the things on my list but we will see.

First on the list is making a schedule and actually sticking to it. I love making a plan and figuring out when and where to be. At the beginning of Freshman year I told myself Yeah I'll definitely go to the gym a lot and I'll go to a fun workout class weekly .... I couldn't even finish the sentence without laughing. It's safe to say I did NOT get to the gym that often although I did end up getting a trainer for a little bit so I didn't look so awkward working out. I also didn't go to a workout class weekly. At first I went to Zumba every Friday but other commitments got in the way. So this year my fitness goal is to work out at least 3 times a week and pick a workout class that I can stay loyal to. A caveat to this is I CANNOT schedule anything during the time that would give me an excuse not to go. This time is for me to focus on myself for once and just relax.

Which leads me to my second goal, weekly color times a.k.a. me time. During spring finals some friends and I colored almost every night to destress. I don't know why I waiting until finals week to color regularly but I know now: make time every week. It might be late at night or early morning before I start my day but any time that I can schedule ME time is a good thing.

Dedicate time to my studies. Last year I studied when I felt like it or if there was nothing else to do. But there's always something to do at school, another show to watch, more food to eat, or friends to hang out with. This year I need to have a set homework time so I'm not waiting till 8 pm to start my homework. More than likely I stayed up till midnight or one am doing homework then getting up at 7am was not fun at all. I'm not a morning person to start with so going to bed late at night did not help at all.

Next, sleep. Ahh the ever elusive sleep. There's never enough of it. This year, sleep needs to be a priority. If I'm not done with homework by a certain time I need to stop and just go to bed because at some point during the night my brain just turns to mush. Then it's better to just do the work in the morning when I am refreshed.

Finally I need to be kinder to myself. College is a huge change from high school. Even though the school I went to was deemed a "college prep high school" I still felt scared, and anxious about my new reality.There would be times where I wouldn't get the grade I wanted, or I would opt to stay in when I could've hung out with friends and make memories that'll last longer than the Netflix show I was watching. This year I am going to stop second guessing myself and just have fun. If all my work is done and I want to go to dinner with friends then I shouldn’t wait for them to ask me I just have to ask. If someone is saying “Hey lets all go out this weekend” I should go along, the comfort zone is nice but I need to get out (literally and figuratively).

Sophomore Year is the year of Me and I plan to stick to my goals and actually make them work opposed to just sitting around waiting for them to magically work themselves out.