New Year, Better Me.

“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint- and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” –Oprah Winfrey

It wouldn’t be a new year if I didn’t make a list of resolutions, right? So I decided to jot down a few of my goals/resolutions for the ‘upcoming’ year. I never like to make this list too long so no worries- you won’t be reading forever! (just kidding, you will)

While I don’t want to be one of those people who says “Oh, but you should always have goals and resolutions… you should always want to work on yourself, who needs to wait for the new year to do that?”

But, I am (only for a second). If you’re anything like me, you need to start on a fresh page, and what is more fresh than a new year? While I do think it’s important to always be working on yourself- whether that be trying to be healthier, or just putting yourself out there more, I think it’s a smart move to use the new year as motivation to start being a better you. So, with that being said, here are my 2016 New Years Resolutions.

1. Read the “Top Ten Best Novels of the 20th Century.” 

This might seem vacuous, but as an avid reader I think its something I NEED to do. You can’t be an English major and aspiring author and not have read Pride and Prejudice, or Catch-22. Like c’mon, no more explanation needed.

 

 

 

 

2. Score an Internship

“You’re a college student Melody, doesn’t like everyone intern at some point in their college career?” Well… no you do not HAVE to intern as a college student. It definitely is something many do, but you have to apply and a whole bunch of other time consuming things to get an internship. (Ya kinda also have to want to do it). So I made it a resolution because I have to fit four years of college into two and scoring an internship this year would really help things move along.

3. Work towards a healthier mind, body and soul.

No, this isn’t that resolution where I decide to go on a diet or run a mile every morning. That definitely can’t change overnight. But I will try my best to make sure I’m aware of what’s going into my body and the effects that it can have. Now, I am a broke college student- so I’ll eat whatever I can afford, but I’ll definitely try and be more conscious this year. (Maybe if I find some really cool recipes, I’ll share them with y’all- stay tuned!).

Along with trying to be healthier physically, I’m going to work harder at being healthier mentally! I think it’s so important to take care of your mind. So often do we put that on the back burner, without really realizing the long term effects it can have on us. Turns out, stress can really affect your brain. I’m currently obsessed with this blog called “Pick the Brain.” I recently read this article that talks about having a healthy mind. If you want to take a gander over there and learn more for yourself, here’s the link!

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/5-key-steps-to-a-healthy-mind/

This past semester in college definitely increased my stress levels, and I do tend to stress about things both large and miniscule. Along with my stress levels rising quite a bit, I’ve started to get anxiety. It doesn’t hit me too hard. I’ll usually feel it when I lay down to go to sleep and I start thinking about everything I need/want to accomplish or get done. It isn’t too severe, I don’t have frequent panic attacks or anything of that sort, I just realized that it takes me a little bit longer to start something new, (for example, this blog) because I think too much about the outcome instead of just going for it.

 

4. Don’t give up on your dreams

This one might sound a little dumb, but let me explain. I don’t mean it in the cheesy, inspirational movie kind of way. I just don’t want to give up or be lazy on reaching my goals. Sometimes too much is going on for you to focus on other projects, and I tend to prioritize and leave everything that doesn’t HAVE to get done alone. In a more detailed sense, I want to submit more of my writings to different publishers, newspapers, magazines, writing forums, and things of that sort. I don’t want to put that on the shelf to collect dust. I did get a poem of mine published last year, so It’s definitely not something that’s impossible. I think with enough motivation and passion, I can really go above and beyond this goal this year.

If you made it this far, Congratulations! You win a free internet thank you from yours truly… Thank you! (I took this out in my edit, but then put it back in cause I like the cheesiness of it). I’m hoping since I wrote out my resolutions and made them public that I would be more inclined to follow them so I don’t disappoint anyone at the end of this year, especially myself. So, if you’re looking back at this in December Melody, I’m punishing you if you haven’t worked on any of this!

With all that said, have a happy new year full of goal reaching and happiness!

 

Sincerely,

Melody Christensen