I know that I am an emotional mess. For starters, I teared up every single time during the holidays when they played that Glade commercial where the woman hangs up the Christmas lights for the old man. I haven’t quite made it through listening to “In Your Atmosphere” by John Mayer without having some degree of an emotional breakdown. And don’t even get me started on "Marley and Me."
But I got unexpectedly emotional when the ball dropped at midnight welcoming a new year. Some of you may argue that it was because I was the only conscious person in the house as my Mom, Dad, and two dogs had been snoring for hours. Some may argue that it had something to do with the fact that I was stuck at home with the stomach bug when all of my best friends were out having fun. And maybe some of you just think I’m pessimistic – which I admittedly can be. But it wasn’t any of that.
My emotions had nothing to do with that lame New Year cliché that everyone seems to love: “Isn’t it crazy how much can change in a year?” While yes, it is crazy, I wasn’t necessarily sad to be leaving 2015 in the past. In fact, I’d metaphorically packed 2015’s bags and bought its plane ticket back to wherever-the-hell-it-came-from quite awhile ago hoping the tragic trends of man buns, “Hitting the Quan,” and overly-penciled eyebrows would be a thing of the past.
It wasn’t the past sparking my emotions, but the future. 2016 marks the year that I will graduate from college. 2016 is the last year that I get to spend living with all of my best friends and the last year I can act somewhat irresponsible and have a somewhat reasonable excuse. This is the dreaded year that I’ve been ignoring in the back of my mind in fear of finally becoming a “real person.” Eeeeeeep!
I have no idea what my future holds. Some people like that thrill of unpredictability. However, coming from someone who has more OCD about her daily routine and weekly plans than her own hygiene (sorry if you think I’m gross) unpredictability is something I like even less than the man bun trend.
I didn’t want to be one of those people to write a “resolutions” article, so I personally will refuse to consider this “resolutiony,” but call it what you will. In 2016, I need to embrace every single moment and every single day as it comes. These are the last important, vitally precious moments I get to spend in my favorite place on earth with my favorite people on earth. I need to remind myself to give it my all and push through with some of my best work in my last semester so I can come out strong and (hopefully) land myself a good job. And most importantly, I need to remind myself to keep growing as a person. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been known to live in the past and let old issues continue on being problematic. I hate myself for being that cornball to say 2016 is a “clean slate,” but that’s exactly what I’ll treat it as.
While 2016 is bound to have adversities, obstacles, and yes, you guessed it, more emotions, I welcome them because this year is already filled with so much unpredictable excitement. And hey, I can handle the unpredictability as long as it’s exciting.
