There’s really nothing I don’t want to do in 2024; I only want to add new things to this beautiful life that I have created.
I think that is the ultimate goal that shows growth and acceptance in real-time. 2023 was about rediscovering myself, and I did that, so why would I want to throw away the parts of myself that I have come to know?
I don’t see why the new year must be so restrictive in diets and feeling guilty you couldn’t stick out 75 hard because, realistically, not many people can. I have done 30 days of Yoga in the past two Januarys, which I did love being able to say I did, but often I was doing it just to say it. A lot of resolutions like that are to either prove it to yourself or others, instead of enriching yourself, which is the whole point. This phenomenon has taken over our lives as Planet Fitness drops its fee to $10 a month and health food advertisements ramp up.
Somebody asked me what my New Year’s Resolution was the other day and I said I forgot because quite frankly, I didn’t know until right now, 10:28 am on January 5th, when I am writing this post in my bathrobe still drinking my coffee. Even after taking my leather-bound journal to Barnes and Noble on December 31st, I still didn’t know what to say, but I was okay with that. There is no rush to create a bullshit resolution that probably won’t last past March if it even makes it that far. I am aware of how cynical that sounds, but I would rather take a few extra days to really figure out what I want this year to look like.
I knew I wanted to write a New Year's post, but I wasn’t ready at the end of December when most of these posts came out. I got lost in the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve when nothing really exists and humans have finally found a way to escape time. I think that’s beautiful in its own sense as we spend so much energy worrying about time, especially in the few days after this period. It’s as if we all start our watches again on January 1st even though it is just a day, just as the last week of nothingness was too, but it didn’t seem to matter then.
The idea of New Year’s resolutions and what society has turned this holiday into has always been off-putting, but I write a self-development and mindfulness blog so of course I can’t help but love it. I love the idea of a fresh start just as much as anybody, but I try to prioritize my goals to look a little different. We already live in a high-stress society full of deadlines to meet and taxes to pay, so I don’t think adding any more rules to follow will truly benefit us.
In eighth grade, my New Year’s resolution after a rather hard seventh grade, as seventh grade goes, was always to be able to say that "I am doing better than I ever was." This of course was a line from Taylor Swift’s song “Call It What You Want” on her Reputation album since I was in fact in eighth grade, but ever since then I have been able to confidently say that I am doing better than I ever was, at least in one sense or another. From then on, I have prioritized more of a New Year’s intention rather than a resolution because I am not trying to fix anything, I am trying to grow.
My working intention for 2024 is to not leave behind 2023. I want to remember the mistakes I made and keep in mind the lessons I learned to grow this year. I have made a lot of memories this year on mountain tops, in sand dunes, and waterfalls, in people who have become my best friends, and places that have become my home. I have said yes often which has led me to join organizations, hold positions, get jobs, and prepare me for my future in ways I had certainly not expected this year to do. I am forever grateful for the opportunities that have found me in 2023 as I allowed myself to discover life in a new sense where in the Tarot deck, I am the Fool, the baby bird learning to fly. I got in touch with myself this year, slowing down in some seasons and ramping up in others, because life is all about balance, just like the seasons and how life moves through itself in phases.
I highlighted how important the creative parts of myself are and that I need to continuously foster that energy. I feel most inspired when outdoors, so I climbed the second-tallest mountain in the continental U.S. and picked up running as a hobby as opposed to a chore. I feel most inspired when around other creative people, things, or places, so I surrounded myself with art. I dove into my creative writing classes and still cannot picture a life where I am not constantly working on an essay or two just for myself. Sandro Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” is the lock screen on my laptop and now I find out in ten days if I will be studying abroad in Italy next fall where I will be able to stand face to face with it; two creative works staring eye to eye.
2023 has been a beautiful year of figuring out what I want out of this world, and I am leaving it with a good grip on what I envision my career plan as, multiple sources of income, many big dreams, and the means to accomplish them.
2024 is going to be a rich year. I am going to surround myself with all the joy that I have found in 2023. I found my college best friends, I have dreams I want to accomplish, I have classes that have made me fall in love with learning, I have hobbies that recharge me, and I have the life that I have always wanted to have.
All I really want to do in 2024 is continue to dream and continue to work hard for those dreams because a little bit of hope has already gotten me so incredibly far. I am so thankful for where I am, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
2024, I can’t wait for you.
-Emma Claire