"New Year, New Me"

As a citizen and a guilty consumer of commercial America, I have always been told to create New Year's resolutions. Even though the idea of making a list of goals I have for myself and then them magically becoming instituted in my day to day life on the start of January 1st sounds great, this tradition has never sat right with me. As much as I want to believe in the sentiment behind resolutions, most of the examples I have seen have ended in utter failure. "I will only cheat on weekends", "today is a special occasion; it doesn't count", and "I have completed enough of my goal in the first two months" are all excuses I've heard before from once wide-eyed resolution writers, as they accept their fates of ultimately no character change. Don't take this wrong. I am not bashing on anyone that annually takes the time to goal set and manifest the upcoming year's accomplishments. If anything, I think that this year is a good one as any to set some dreams for yourself. As I have learned more about manifestation in the past few weeks, I have realized that it really can be for everyone. I don't completely buy into the idea that the universe is listening to your manifests and that it will answer all of your prayers, but I do believe that there is some reassured power in putting your affirmations into world. This same reason has been a constant for why I enjoy writing. When writing, along with manifesting, you can put your deepest and most desperate dreams into the world without feeling enormous amounts of pressure or stress. So this year, I encourage you to go out and write those resolutions. Be as cheesy as you want. But I warn you: Don't make yourself feel bad when your resolutions are ultimately forgotten or dumped into the trash along with the tofu you bought as a meat replacement. You shouldn't plague yourself with pain when that same pain was once a gorgeous thing that made you want to take the time to find a pen and a scrap piece of paper. At the end of the day, when the clock strikes midnight, nothing will change. It is the mindset you set for yourself along with the massive ball in Times Square that will ultimately make this your new year. So without a doubt, at the top of my list will be 'new year, new me', the common phrase that has made me shudder for far too long. There is no shame in wanting a change, not only in annuality but in yourself as well. So utterly and sincerely, goodbye 2020! Hello 2021 and a new me!