With the New Year slowly approaching, everyone is preparing themselves for their New Year’s resolutions. Not once in my 19 years of life have I truly sat down to reconsider certain aspects of my lifestyle and vow to make improvements. I’ve never created a New Year’s resolution list, partly because I’m lazy and I don’t believe in improving my lifestyle for the sake of the new year. I would much rather call it quits on my bad habits before the new year or anytime in between, not just to avoid the “new year, new me” cliche, but to also allow myself to make beneficial changes that I will follow throughout the rest of my life not just for a year. New Year’s resolutions typically consist of improvements for the self and most often not improvements for others around us or the world. Sometimes these lifestyle changes shouldn't always be about ourselves; sometimes we should think about others.
So, you might be curious as to what are some changes I’ve been personally making. Not only will these lifestyle changes impact my everyday behavior but they also impact the people around me (for the good of course). To put it in the most quickest form, I’m officially a vegetarian; I'm living an eco-friendly lifestyle; I’m raising awareness for the ethical values that mean the most to me; I’m volunteering and actively engaging in sources that fight on the behalf of women and our equality; and I’m reading books not simply for the sake of entertainment but for the sake of improving my knowledge of history, of society, of feminism, of almost anything I can get my hands on.
Before I decided to make so many changes to my lifestyle, I first had to ask myself “why?” It wasn’t because I was unhappy with the lifestyle I was living, instead it was because I felt as if I had been constantly taking and abusing these resources without considering the negative effects and without contributing something in return. And just like that I chose to make improvements to my lifestyle; these improvements aren’t dramatic, but they are incredibly new and part of an adjustment process.
While some lifestyle changes weren’t as easy as others, I have most definitely become well-acquainted and more enthusiastic about my new lifestyle. Although becoming a vegetarian may have been easier than educating myself, I learned that with due time these new adjustments become more routine. Within the past two weeks I have made several changes that I wish I had begun earlier. I now take a few minutes out of my day to read the news; I carry a reusable water bottle and use silverware all the time; I’ve eliminated synthetics and parabens from my beauty products; I carry a tote that inspires the fight against animal testing and empowers women in India through employment in handcrafting textiles; I cook with organic and naturally source ingredients; I recycle and I unplug everything after charging (because vampire energy is a real thing). As overwhelming as it may seem, these changes can be implemented whenever your heart desires.
If you’re considering making some new year’s resolutions make wise ones. Make resolutions that you can keep and strive to improve throughout several years, and make resolutions that aren’t solely about the self. Whether you need time to carefully weigh your options or not, don’t use the new year as your deadline. Consider the new year as more time: time for improvements, changes and lots of growth. I challenge you to live a lifestyle that makes you genuinely happy and a lifestyle that you want to share with others.
