With the pain of 2016 behind us and five days deep into 2017, people everywhere are signing up for LA Fitness, trading in those empty calorie beers for clear liquor and locking away twinkies and cheetos until at least February 1st, while the rest of us have whole heartedly given up the idea of New Year's Resolutions completely. I mean, I already disappoint my family by being in college five years, why disappoint myself by failing to lose those freshman 15 I swore I'd lose January 1st 2014, 4 months of mondo and steak escape deep into sophomore year? Although I am happy to announce I did keep my resolution for 2016 - to maintain my bushy and unruly eyebrows - (seriously, what am I going to do when thick eyebrows go out of style? Or thick thighs, for that matte?) so maybe not all resolutions are a total loss.
Halfway through that paragraph I lost sight of what was happening, I'll be first admit it. What I'm getting at, though, is that New Year's Resolutions are a thing of the past. They're rarely kept, and usually unattainable (see 2016's New Year's Resolution's blogpost for more. [Or don't, I'm just here to please the 500 of you that have stuck around through my on an off posting. Shout out to Nay Nay and Diego, I know you're reading this.]) It seems to me the best thing you can do, is make little changes this year that will either set you on course for a great year, or hopefully become healthy habits that will follow you throughout 2017, and even into 2018.
1. Purge your social media
Honestly, there's nothing wrong with accepting the fact that Melissa from biology in high school posts too many annoying pictures of her engagement ring, maybe one day that'll be you when you stop sitting in bed, eating pizza and watching the Office for the 2349 time and proudly announcing you're in the bad guy house (where my slytherins at?!) and finally find a man (or woman) who will agree to move to Florida with you just to go to Disneyworld every Saturday. But for now, the thought of this girl you haven't talked to since 2010 just irritates you more than anything. So, why not just unfriend her?
For younger generations, i.e. millennials, Facebook has really become obsolete. Personally I only get on when I see a notification from my frat, and I don't even have messenger. That's why, when you decide to clean out your friends list, no one will really notice, so don't worry about offending anyone. Now, if uncle Jim-Bob posts too much about dear old Putin - I mean, Trump - just hide his posts. It's not childish, it's not immature, if you don't like you, you're in control of your own social media platforms, all of them. Unfollow people on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, whatever you use.
2. Purge your social life
I am lucky enough to have avoided drama since my sorority days. Not saying my sorority was the center of my drama, but, it was. I'm not putting down sororities, because sororities are really truly fabulous, but mine was seeping with mean girls and drama. After essentially cutting my ties, on purpose or just unfortunately becoming distant, with many sisters I surrounded myself with, I noticed how better my life turned out. Ever since, I refuse to surround myself with people that pull me down, create a constant negative energy, enthrall me in never ending drama, etc etc. If you're in the situation where you find yourself constantly trying to justify why it's ok to be friends with someone that puts you in constantly unideal situations, it's your right to cut ties. Delete numbers, stop going to get drinks or dinner, whatever it is. You come first, and the company you keep impacts your habits, energy, health, and well-being. Stop making excuses for their bad behavior and just be done with them. That includes David from Tinder - block him. You're not a bootycall.
3. Clean your space, and keep it clean.
It's worth noting at this moment I have 3 piles of dirty clothes, with another in the wash. All the blankets from my bed are on the floor and my desk is cluttered with makeup brushes and makeup products. After 2 weeks of visiting family and a conference. my room is destroyed. But there's no better feeling than getting it all nice and clean. But the problem isn't so much cleaning it, but keeping it clean. I have discovered a few things I can do that helps me, like keeping my dirty clothes hamper outside of my closet so I'll actually throw clothes in it, creating more storage to store things like books, movies, and pictures, and tucking my blankets under the mattress so it's harder for me to make a mess of my bedding while I sleep, and easier and quicker to make in the morning. I will also clean out my closet and drawers every so often, donating clothes I don't need to putting up clothes not fit for the season, like flip flops in winter and boots in summer. For any space you have, the initial cleaning is half the battle. Finding organizational methods and cleaning habits really help keep things clean and uncluttered. I'm a big believer that if your important spaces are clean. it makes everything in your life easier.
4. Do Good
Would this be a blog spot without me throwing in community service? No, no it wouldn't. Volunteers have generated BILLIONS of dollars worth of volunteer work the past few years, and donating your time is the most rewarding thing you can do. It doesn't have to be big, if you're strapped for time; write cards to sick children in hospitals, spend a few hours at your food bank on a Saturday morning, or just shoveling snow for your elderly neighbor. I think it;s incredibly important to take some time to give back to your community, it helps give you a new perspective on what others go through, will make you feel like an incredible person, and really light a spark in you to want to change the world. In a time with a lot of discrimination, tension, and just general not niceness, lending a helping hand benefits all parties involved.
5. Start a book and/or TV series
Currently, I'm on a Harry Potter kick. I went through books 1-7, the Cursed Child, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them way too quickly. For brief periods of time, I'm able to escape my problems and worries here in the muggle world and place myself in a world of amazing heroes, enchanting scenery and mind blowing character developments. I'm about to start the Inheritance Cycle for the 100th time, because it's a world where dragons roam and brave men are fighting off the evils of the world.
I tend to have rather dorky taste in books, but that's because I love magic and far away places where the hero always wins. What I want to get across is that books and shows let us temporarily be somewhere else, ease our minds with what is troubling us and see that happy endings do exist (just don't watch Breaking Bad), and giving us something to look forward to when you're sitting at your 9 to 5 or struggling to finish that 10 page research paper. Invest in something that takes your mind somewhere else, when you need to get away from the stress that overwhelms you,
6. Find a new hobby
Or, rekindle an old hobby that has fallen to the wayside. The point is, it's important to take some you time this year. We run ourselves ragged and it's not healthy. Hobbies let us express ourselves in ways we want and gives us the release we need. I'm an incredibly creative person, and am always looking for new ways to express myself in an artsy way. I've moved away from crafting, and started to take an interest in photography and aesthetics. Every person is different, and it's ok to not really know what a good hobby for you is. Try new things until you find something that makes you feel happy and gives you something to look forward to every day, week, or month.
7. Break one bad habit and start one new healthy habit
Someone much smarter than me researched it takes three weeks to make or beak a habit. 21 days of consistent work may seem like a lot, but to stop eating fast food, quit smoking, to start drinking more water or getting to bed at a decent time, is a small price to pay. It's also a great time to grab your best friend and do it together, to keep each other on track and hold each other accountable. It's ok to have days where you fall off the wagon, the important thing is to get up and get back on!
8. Take lazy days
What's the common theme here? Take time to take care of yourself. Every now and then, call in sick to work, skip your Monday classes, and amerce yourself in things that you love and make you happy. Work on that hobby, read that book, watch that show, drop a bath bomb in the tub and soak, it;s important to understand that it's ok to take you time every now and then. Life is fast and if you don't take the time to slow down sometimes you'll run yourself into the ground.
9. Make a memory jar, mood board, or keep a journal.
I think everyone needs a creative outlet, even if you aren't artsy. We all have a little Bob Ross or Andy Warhol in us. Make a memory jar by simply taking a mason jar, and filling it up with quotes, pictures, or memories showcasing what happened throughout the years. Bullet journals are amazing too, and totally personal. If that's too much, many stores sell journals that give you a prompt to write everyday,
10. Celebrate little victories
Little victories are as important as big victories. Glorify when you've worked out every day this week, or you took all the steps you needed. Splurge on something when you finally paid off all your bills. Milestones are milestones, and they're something to celebrate.
11. Be more positive
A bad day doesn't make it a bad life. No matter how many things go wrong, it's crucial to look for those little rays of sunshine; you have shelter, air in your lungs, someone that loves you, or whatever you need to realize that whatever you're going through may be bad, but there's always something good, too. The glass may be half empty, but it can be refilled, right? I'm a pessimist, and I love to make positive quotes as my screen on my phone and laptop, write them on sticky notes to stick around my room, and write a happy quote on every page in my planner.
Make this year your best year yet! I hope this helps, and that you are able to take at least one thing from this! It's ok not to set a New Year's Resolution, and it's ok to set one. No matter what happens this year, you are in charge of your life, and you can take control of it.
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