Jordan Valdez
The one about not making New Year's resolutions
My favorite thing about this year so far is the way we all agreed to come into it—cautiously, one foot at a time, not claiming it as “Our Year!!!” It’s honestly a well-needed fresh take on the mindset of entering a new year. Like let’s all just chill ok, we don’t need to ironically beg for certain doom all over again.
So here we are, already a few weeks in to 2021. I’m sure like me, many of you are toying with the idea of New Year’s resolutions even if you’re claiming on your Instagram— “no resolutions for me this year, I’m setting myself up for success not failure!” – I call BulL$h!t. We all have things that we hope a new year will help us begin or accomplish. Regardless of the pressure we place on the month of January, the earliest moments of the year feel rejuvenating. It’s a clean slate, a fresh start, a shift in momentum. I for one, am doing my best to take advantage of that.
In typical resolution fashion, I reopened my gym membership—you’re welcome for that statistic Planet Fitness. I set a few reminders in my phone to provide me with daily cues for joy and manifestation, an idea I got from a good friend. I’m manifesting more job opportunities for Photography and it seems to be working. I deep cleaned my room, rearranged a little décor and candles for a dose of feng shui. I’m finally going to restart my SmileDirect retainers, while we’re still wearing masks, so I can finish what could’ve been done last year. Plus I have a few other little things I’d like to start doing to benefit my physical and mental health this year. If anyone has tips on cutting sugar out of your diet please help ya girl.
And I’m writing again. Hi, how are YOU doing? I’d honestly love to know. I read a phenomenal book last year that my roommate recommended—well I listened to it on Audible—called Buy Yourself the Fucking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, from Someone Who's Been There by Tara Schuster. I am not joking when I say I felt it immediately begin to change my perspective on change. Tara’s vulnerable words and no bullshit advice can be summed up into the idea that it doesn’t matter how you start, but that you do. Take that first step in the right direction. So that is my only real resolution this year; If I want to accomplish any of the goals I’ve set for my life big or small, I just have to fucking go for it.
So now that the confetti is cleaned up, the Christmas trees are being used as mulch and all of the good coffee flavors are gone from Starbucks, it’s time to really start another new year. We may not be off to a great start as a nation but we’ll just call that one last laugh from 2020 and put that bitch back in last year where she belongs.
I’d love to hear what you want for yourself this year, your non-resolutions, your “finally gonna make that goal happen” ideas. Olivia Rodrigo just wanted her drivers license and we all know how well that’s going for her. But seriously, share the things with me that you want to achieve this year and I’ll be your resolution accountability partner in crime. Ok talk soon, I’m gonna go back to scrolling TikTok for too long. Muah.