New Year, Old You

This is going to be a very nontraditional post on my part. We’re two weeks into the new year, and I’m yet to do anything new. Sure, I’ve made a few drinks and cooked a few meals, but nothing I’ve never tried before. The only thing I’ve done this year that is remotely original is drive 13 hours to Missouri to surprise my best friend for her birthday, and even that is an idea that I copied from myself, from 5 or 6 years ago. Sure, the circumstances, location, and means of transportation were different this time, making it an altogether unique adventure, but still.

Last year, I learned a lot about myself. I worked my way into a new occupational field in which I had been interested for years, and discovered, in spite of numerous people who had tried to dismiss my interest because of lack of experience, that I was far more capable at it than I would have imagined.  I abandoned a dysfunctional and dangerous relationship and realized that I possessed courage and determination to stand up for myself that I had never known before. I moved home, away from the new and exciting sights and feelings I found in Charlotte, North Carolina, and back to my hometown in Columbus, Georgia – and learned that it’s not about what you do, or where you do it that make a difference; all that matters is who you do it with.

I watched my mom endure an extremely risky surgery that changed the life of everyone in the family, and after months of recovery, therapy, and exhaustion – realized that in the darkest, most frightening moments of it all – I had learned how to find enough hope to continue to push through it, no matter the circumstances. I came home from work around the holidays, bubbling with Christmas spirit, to a quiet pair of parents who told me that my Grandpa had suddenly passed away, and I realized that I no longer wanted to blame my circumstances for the things I wished I could have done differently…but that now is the only time that I have to do anything I’ve ever wanted to do with my life.

I took charge of my health, dramatically changing my diet and lifestyle, and very quickly saw results from my hard work (green veggies are the bomb by the way). I didn’t give up on my business – my tiny, one man, one desk, an hour a day, designing, making and selling jewelry business, and I even rediscovered my overwhelming drive and passion for music (ask me about my upcoming show in Macon!).

Everybody talks about new years resolutions; what are you going to do new this year to make yourself better? What do you plan on giving up to become the best you that you can be? While I think there is definitely value in learning something new, and seeking out positive ways to transform your life, I am no longer attracted to the “new year, new you” mantra that is blasted across every form of media as soon as the Christmas music and ads fade. I think that – at least for me – the me who I am today is the me who I will be for the rest of my life, and I love that. I don’t want to tell myself I have to change, or do something new to be happy with who I am. As a matter of fact – the things I’ve found most rewarding and valuable in the past year of my life are things that I unearthed from beneath my roots; things that have been with me for years already, that I simply haven’t taken the time to uncover.

So if you’re struggling with your resolutions this year, try a perspective change instead. Maybe you don’t need to be “new” to be excited about yourself this year. Maybe you need to sit down with an old friend, enjoy a few glasses of wine (or whiskey, DUH), and reminisce on the things that you loved to do years ago, and then ask yourself why you gave them up. Maybe you should stop making excuses for why you can’t do the things you love, whether they’re new or not. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with new year resolutions, but if there’s something about yourself that you desperately want to change, or something new you’re interested in trying, why wait for a new year? If there’s anything that has stuck with me from 2015, it’s that now is your time. Not tomorrow, not next week, NOT next year, but right now. Do yourself a favor this year, and love yourself. This is your moment.

Cheers!

-Chelsea