As the new year begins and holiday season comes to an end, stress sets in and reality hits. Say goodbye to sugar cookies and lazy days, and get ready to put that Keurig you got for Christmas to good use. Let your mother know it'll be a few months before you'll see her again, and prepare for yet another endless cycle of classes, work and internships. Here's to sleepless nights, anxious mornings and forgotten New Years resolutions...right?

Wrong. While I can regrettably admit to falling victim to the unhealthy cycle of watching my hopes rise and fall each year, I wanted to do things differently this time around. Rather than having a dozen unrealistic expectations for myself and giving them the misleading title of "New Years Resolutions," I decided to take life day by day, and allow myself to flourish naturally. Now, this doesn't mean I'm not setting goals for myself– I have hundreds of them, both long-term and short-term. I'm simply allowing myself to work at them progressively, and with no crazy deadline.

I know this year will be hard. I know there will be plenty of weary-eyed nights where I'm rushing home from a nine hour shift to bang out a four-page essay due at midnight. I know that finding time for brunch before heading to my internship will be nearly impossible, and that a "good night's sleep" will become a foreign concept. I know that my managers will drive me almost as crazy as my professors do, and that their judgment will be nothing compared to my own self-cristism. But I'm ready for it all, and I'm ready to kill it.

This year, I want to find a balance. I want to embrace the body I have while working for the one I want. I want to work my ass of for my paycheck and then reward myself with a trip to Sephora. I want my savings account to look better than my checking account. I want my year to be filled with peonies, gourmet coffee, good shoes and all the things that I love. I plan to work, indulge and grow– and I'm going to make this year, my year.

Try not to doubt yourself when you've given up on your diet two weeks into January and you're falling behind in classes that haven't even started yet. Forget the "New year, new me" bullshit, and focus on making a better you. You have the ability to make 2017 your best year yet, and you won't be able to take advantage of it if you're putting yourself down. Sit back, cut yourself some slack and find the balance– and make this year fabulous.