What's funny about the new year starting is that everyone suddenly thinks that they can throw away the negatives of yester-year overnight and start "afresh", just because the year is now one number more than the last. But in all reality, who keeps their New Years resolutions?
I was going through this blog of mine and ran across my new years resolutions posted from last year. NYE Resolutions for 2014 . While reading this I practically bursted out laughing at some of my attempts of "transforming." Who would have thought that I would be able to turn down cursing? Don't get me wrong I gave it up successfully for Lent, but for the most part my cursing has certainly not decreased. Another great one was learning to cook more, and again, being the college student I am, I cooked maybe a couple times throughout the year but nothing incredibly fancy. I became a big fan of the Magic Bullet, but making smoothies isn't exactly learning to cook more.
"Write More" was one of the resolutions that surprisingly resonated throughout the year and I'm quite happy about it. Despite not keeping this blog up to date (I blame the hoopla of spring quarter last year and summers shenanigans), writing in general definitely stepped up: I took more literary journalism classes, finally decided to minor in it, and I also finished three personal journals over the year. Yay writing!
For my other resolutions like "Thinking before I speak", "Owning it", and "working on my listening skills," these were all something that were practiced often last year, but also definitely thrown out the window. At times I had every good intention in having these resolutions follow through, but there are many moments in the year that I know did not follow through. And to be honest, I'm not too disappointed about it. Do I still say things without fully thinking them over? Unfortunately, yes. Do I still get embarrassed for liking a nerdy show or not knowing what the f**k I'm doing? No, and Yes. Have my listening skills improved? Still improving.
See the whole point about New Years resolutions is to improve yourself-- but be realistic about it. Know that these kind of things really don't happen overnight, it's something that has to be worked on consistently throughout the year. That's the thing though: consistently. New Years resolutions are about consistency. If you aren't consistent about your goals, then what's the point?
So for this years New Years Resolutions, I'm keeping three broad ones in mind.
1. Be better, not bitter.
2. Consistency and commitment. Commit to what I start, and remain consistent with it till the end. For someone who isn't great at this, this will probably be one of the more challenging resolutions.
3. Honesty. Be honest with yourself.
