Everyone can agree on one thing here 2018 had huge highs, but many, many, hard-hitting lows. Starting a new school semester, and a new chapter of your life can be scary. If writing resolutions is something that helps you, by all means, go for it. But if you're like me, then all yearly resolutions end up being the same that I trash just a few weeks in to the year. Allow yourself to start the new year on a high so 2019 will be your bitch.
1. Leave all your sloppy sh*t in the past
Ranging from relationship drama, to family scuttles nothing makes a new year new than starting fresh. New year new you, spend some time figuring out what needs to be swept under the rug and what should just be tossed with the rest of the years crap.
2. Spend more time in solitary boredom
Let your mind take a break. Sure, you have school, relationships, and probably a job. Taking time from your day and letting your brain just go blank will not only fill your new year with peace, but also curates a mass of creativity that would have diminished.
3. Donate more
Before you go and clean out 60% of your closet this can be both figurative and literal. Every day you can donate in the form of tips. Giving that extra dollar and cents you got back in change from your coffee, leave the moola in the tip jar to give Rick, your favorite barista and extra few bucks. Also spend your time with others. Your local elementary school probably needs a few "big buddies", and your downtown library could use some shelf stocking.
4. Express yourself
With millennials everywhere claiming to practice self-love and expression, when did we start doing it for others and not ourselves? This could range from speaking up at your internship or disagreeing with a professor in class, to getting that portrait tattoo on you back. By getting a piercing, or stating your opinion on a book, expressing yourself is the first step to having a kick ass new year.
5. Surround yourself with good
This is the year that you make your life good again. Take the new job offer to get out of your minimum wage tasks. Meet that girl for dinner that you talked to twice in class. Friendships will end and new ones will sprout. Take the drive back to your hometown, trust me your parents will be thrilled and you get to spend a few days in the warmth of your own bed.
6. Pet more dogs
Okay this one is not as deep as the previous ones. Petting dogs, or cats, give off a high only an animal lover can sense. You will have the weight of the world finally lifted off of your shoulders. Taking a few seconds to bond with a precious creature will fill you with light.
7. Spend more money
Don't go off and buy a new car because you are bored on your current vehicle. But let yourself spend two dollars to buy a doughnut at the end of a long exam. You are worth it so why not allow yourself to experience the joys of newness.
8. Capture the moment
Look around at your surroundings. Would you rather find the perfect angle and lighting, or would you rather put your phone away and breathe in the fresh air, this moment is only so long.
9. Listen to others
This can be taken in multiple ways that can all benefit your new year. By listening to others, you are educating yourself on the school of life. Take time to appreciate your grandmothers repeated stories, listen to her speak about her childhood. Your mom's pesky phone calls are a time to hear her smile through her voice as she talks about what your dad had done.
10. Love openly
Fix your broken heart and place it back on your sleeve because this is the year to love fiercely and boldly. Fall in love with a persons' soul, find the perfect dish that makes your mouth water and read that book that always raced your mind.
11. Bring yourself to the present
Taking time to put your phone down, and to enter an active conversation can take a boring wait in line, to a new story you can't wait to tell your friends. Spending your time in a productive state can boost your mood, while giving each day a new lesson.
12. Become your own best friend
There are going to be days, or even longer stretches of time that you are going to be alone. After class instead of texting a friend to grab a cup of coffee go to your favorite cafe by yourself. Go to movies by yourself so you don't have to put up with mid-movie-chatter. Becoming your own best friend gives you a life-long companion that never turns you down.
13. Expand your horizons
Take moments from each day to learn something new. Spend an hour googling a new artist you found on Spotify, read a chapter of a book that explains your horoscope of the week. Knowledge is power and learning something new makes you undefeatable.
14. Constantly soak in information
Now this is not just in the sense of a classroom but anywhere you travel to, your walk to class, getting food from the dining hall, looking around you and taking in the way people communicate with others can help you throughout the new year become more socially involved and will ease any minor social anxieties you have.
15. Simplify your lifestyle
Stop spending outrageous amount of money on alcohol, outfits you only wear once, and people you are trying to impress. Simplify your life in a sense of letting go of things that hold you down. Break up with friends who only hurt you. Untying the knots that are unnecessarily holding you back will unleash a new outlook on the new year.
16. Use reusable products
Buy the reusable grocery bags. Get mason jars to buy things in bulk and use for storage. Buy a cookbook that teaches you how to cook for one. Things that are multipurpose-full will add less clutter to your busy life and teach you that you shouldn't go throwing everything away that you have only used once.
17. Wrap it up
Take this as you might. For the purpose of this article give your friends and family gifts more often. Seeing their faces light up as you give them something unexpected is one of the best, and simplest joys in life.
18. Get to know your community
Spend time outside of your room. Explore your town as if it were the first time. Go to all the best boutiques and local farmers markets. Drink the best coffee and bubble tea your town has to offer. Greet the owners of shops with open arms and strike up conversation. Friendliness goes a long way with people.
19. Look forward to the future
A new year allows you to become fresh, but you shouldn't get caught up in things that you have yet to complete. Take each day as it comes with hope for the next grander than the one just lived. The future is bright with opportunities and you are the grand conductor of it.
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