I never got why people hated New Years.

They always say, "why can't you just start now?" and "New Year's resolutions always follow through."

The truth is, sometimes it's hard just to even start.

Think about it like this: Remember all those days before your finals where you just procrastinated for no reason? Instead of writing that paper or memorizing the textbook terms, you decided to finally clean your dorm room or finally catch up on "Stranger Things" (and yes, I did just drag myself). But it wasn't until you finally pushed yourself to say, "alright, now I really have to get started," that you actually STARTED.

I like to think that New Year's is the same way. As humans, time is very important to us. We always want to start when it's 8:00 ON THE DOT, or we want to start projects on Monday.... or we want to start implementing changes in our lives on the first day of the year! The day has a lot of significance because you're not the only one starting your resolutions. There are millions of people around the world who are also starting the same time that you are, and it's kind of motivating because you basically have the whole world in the same boat as you.

On another note, I understand that people feel like they won't follow through with their resolutions. Again, as humans, we always make promises to ourselves that we can't keep. Daily life gets in the way, unplanned adventures get in the way, and laziness gets in the way. And a lot of people get discouraged when they don't see results within a month of their resolutions. But one thing to keep in mind is that changes don't have to have to be immediate; they can be gradual.

I find that the best way to follow through with my New Year's resolutions is to make ones where I can see true results over time. That way, I'm constantly motivated throughout the year and I'm constantly determined to see my results and just be like, "wow, I DID that." Also, like I said, it's a gradual change. If you take a week off from your resolutions, the most important thing is to find the motivation to get back on track with them.

For me, New Year's isn't about getting drunk and saying, "here's to another shitty year!" On New Year's, and throughout the year, I speak my blessings into existence.

Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Maybe it's a placebo. But as long as you believe the next year will be the best year, it will be.

For me, New Year's is about looking back on the blessings and the mistakes of the past year, and learning how to make myself a better person, friend, sister, daughter, and girlfriend. Everything I've done, up until this moment doesn't matter to me anymore.

I love New Year's because it promotes forgetting the past and moving forward with your life, whether that be mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, academically, or spiritually.

So yes, 2018 and every year after that will be MY year. My New Year's Resolutions are:

1. Go back to the gym again

2. Take a few nights out of the week to read your bible and meditate

3. Study more poetry to expand your writing capabilities

4. Keep writing the things you've learned in 2018

5. Buy a real water bottle and drink more water, *jeez*

They're all resolutions that I can easily track and see results throughout the year and they're things that I'm extremely excited about (especially the drinking water, lmao, I cannot tell you the number of times I've been parched this year), and they're things that'll help me in the long run with my overall mental and physical health.

With that being said, what are your New Year's Resolutions?