Resolutions

My last blog of 2018.

Today is the last everything for 2018.

Am I feeling nostalgic?

Nah. I’m looking forward to new adventures.

I’m not sure how your year went, but for me it was approximately 365 days of shake ups, the dismissal of old routines, and rolling with the punches. A year of realizing and having to accept that yes, with change there comes great anxiety and we as people are naturally resistant to change.

But change is a good thing.

A necessary thing.

Perhaps this is why people make resolutions. We know (at least deep down) that if something is bothering us then we should change it, and what better time to vow transforming oneself for the better than when surrounded by friends and consuming large quantities of alcohol?

Kidding.

I know that some people take resolutions seriously. You might write them down in a journal. Or on a piece of paper that you’ll tape to the mirror where you’ll see it every day. Or make it a hashtag at the end of every facebook post.

Maybe you’ll be consistent and stick to your goals; more power to you. I think that’s fabulous. I actually just read a post this morning from a friend announcing that she had successfully followed through with her New Year’s resolution from the end of last year.

I wish we heard more of that rather than of failed gym memberships by February.

(May the odds be ever in your favor, beginning-of-the-year gym goers. From what I understand, it gets extremely crowded for a little while in there.)

Personally, I don’t like the pressure of making a promise to myself on a certain day of the year. I mean, I get it, today is a time for reflection as well as festivity. And there is much reflection; for this past year full of uncertainty, I am most grateful.

I’m sitting at the Raven, listening to it start to get busy out there. I have heard some great things from my little office upstairs. Lately, it has been families gathering together for a quick lunch amid the holiday bustle. Old friends that haven’t seen each other for ages. The day after Christmas, it still felt like a holiday party in here as people gathered for their coffee in the morning.

One year ago, I had no idea that in the coming year I would actually be glad to head to work in the morning. (Heading to one of my favorite places, at that!) Or that I would be spending more time playing with books and writing.

For this as well as many other changes of 2018, I am thankful.

But I’m not going to make a pledge to my future self today.

For me, it makes more sense to promise to work to change things as I see that they need to be changed.

Sometimes I make resolutions.

Sometimes I dare myself to do things. (Like the first time I trimmed my own hair. It truly is all about the little things with me, folks.)

What about you?

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

If you do, I hope that they work out for you.

I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you have a fabulous New Year’s Eve. Don’t forget to hydrate.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to writing more for you.

-Jess, your Media Specialist