Jorrie Tays

Mass communication freshman

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It’s no secret that each new year after the next, all around the globe everyone’s new mantra is “new year, new me!” This mantra is often accompanied by intentions of losing a certain amount of weight, earning some sort of work promotion, raising GPAs by a couple decimal points or any other goal an individual may have put off working toward.

Unfortunately, most of the time, these goals are only prioritized temporarily, eventually leading a person to fall off and become consumed with other things, much like previous years.

This ultimately results in defeat, leaving those who were incapable of fulfilling their resolutions with a pretty crummy outlook on the year ahead. Establishing resolutions may seem like the perfect opportunity for growth, but irony insists that they become a person’s downfall.

A new year has always been something I have looked forward to even from an early age. Whipping out a fresh calendar, planning all the things to come, is all very exciting to me. Admittedly, I too often got caught up in the new year resolution cycle.

As I grew older, I began to realize that at the end of January I was left feeling incompetent, unable to accomplish any of my goals. Maybe I made too many resolutions? Maybe next year I should aim for less? And so, I did, condensing my list of resolutions each year to only those I felt were attainable.

Still with minimal success, I have decided that my best years have been those where I did not have a resolution at all. This year, I have decided to challenge myself. As far as New Year’s resolutions go I only have one: do more of what makes me happy.

In my 18 years, I have discovered that I am my worst critic. I can imagine that this is true for others, all of us experiencing the same subtle sensation of sadness early in the year when we have let ourselves down again.

In a way, my goal to be happy this year is almost an anti-resolution. I am still challenging myself, but not in a way that can be measured with numbers or the attainment of a position. It is my hope that in 2019, I can look back at 2018 and measure my success in smiles and memories.

By prioritizing my own happiness, it is nearly impossible to go into the following year feeling anything other than that. As we all make our New Year’s resolutions, I think we should all consider making “anti resolutions” and hope for a happier year.