Every year, we get the opportunity to start fresh.

Maybe January 1, 2017, is just another day. Maybe it's another Sunday in a string of endless weekdays. However, for me, this day is the most hopeful of the year.

This year, I plan to enter 2017 with hopes, dreams, goals, aspirations, etc. However, unlike 2016, I plan to exit the year with results.

I don't want my New Years resolutions to just be...ideas. I want them to be plans. I want to have to work harder every day to reach my goal.

I think it is safe to say that 2016 was not the year for most people, myself included. There were good things that happened, but the person that is exiting 2016 is not who I wish to remain as. I want 2017 to be a year of finding myself.

At the end of 2017, I hope to be a better person than I am now.

At the end of 2017, I would like to be a woman of God. I would like to radiate positivity and God's glory everywhere that I go. I would like to be seen as something other than "just another Christian."

At the end of 2017, I would like to be a more active person. I would like to push myself to use the body God gave me to its full potential. I would like to drink more water, eat more granola and have a body that represents blood, no tears, and sweat.

At the end of 2017, I would like to be emotionally stronger. I would like to be able to brush things off and just go with the flow. I would like to be able to act on the things that will ultimately make me better as a person, instead of just pushing them off.

At the end of 2017, I would like to have more memories of travel. 2016 was the biggest year of travel for me yet, but I just know that 2017 brings more flights, midnight drives through the Midwest and new unfamiliar cities full of excitement.

At the end of 2017, I want to be in good standing academically. Though 2016 was my best year yet as far as school goes, I am fully confident that I can do better.

At the end of 2017, I want to know that I lived every day fully and completely. I want to know, in my heart, that I experienced and seized the day for 365 days straight. I want to be able to reflect on my struggles and better myself from them.

Ultimately, I hope that 2017 brings more smiles and joy than all of my past 17 years combined. I hope that January 1st is a day of hope, a day of smiles and a day of planning for the future for everyone. I pray that we are all able to keep up with our resolutions and push ourselves to the maximum potential.

I hope to enter 2017 with wide eyes and hope in my heart. I hope to exit 2017 with a heart of gold and a fearless soul.