It's mid January now, which means that many of us are still motivated to keep up our New Year's Resolutions; we are still eating healthy, still going to the gym, still reading every day, etc. And these resolutions can be amazing, opportunities for us to improve ourselves and our happiness. However, using the "new year, new me" mantra has not been for me this year.
I think that most of us can agree that 2017 had its ups and downs. However, I took a lot out of 2017. This past year I spent a lot of time learning how to be independent, strengthening my bonds with the people I love, and learning how to let go of negativity.
I would not be the person I am today without the lessons that I took from the past year. I don't want to rid myself of my 2017 self and become an entirely new person. I want to build upon the person that I am after last year.
Instead of "New Year, New Me", I want to take on 2018 as a "New Year, Better Me" type of person. I don't want to distance myself from my past mistakes and bad habits, but instead, remember what I learned from those experiences and work to make myself a better person because of them. These learning opportunities allowed me to get to the point I am now, making my resolutions based on what I think I still need some work on. I do not expect myself to be totally changed, nor do I want an instantly clean slate every January 1st. Instead, I want to work towards something that isn't necessarily new, but can always be better.