Out of sheer randomness, I tried to revisit my old, shabby
blog today only to discover that the last blog entry I posted was exactly a
year ago. Wow. Has it really been that long already? I got my hands so full
with work this 2016 that I haven’t had the chance to update my blog and squeeze
out the creative juices of my brain. 2016 also paved way to a more outdoorsy me
which needless to say, had brought me (during most of my non-working hours) to
the outdoors than to the coziness of my bedroom at home. In short, I just
didn’t have the time to really sit down, lay things out, and do a proper blog
entry although honestly, I had several attempts to do so such as when I would
want to make an itinerary of our recent climb, or share a recent domestic trip,
or just randomly whine over work, or be poetic over the “supermoon” last
November. Believe me, I really wanted to go back into writing. I just didn’t
have the impeccable timing to match.
Enough with the babbling. Haha. My point in writing this entry is to share and document (‘coz memory is one treacherous friend y’all) my own set of what we all earnestly vow at the start of the new year: New Year’s resolutions.
But first, what do we really mean by a New Year’s
resolution? Merriam-Webster defines a New Year’s resolution as “a promise to do
something differently in the new year.” In addition, Wikipedia tries to define
it as “a tradition in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or
behavior.” My point here being is that some people oftentimes confuse a resolution
with goal-setting (though your resolution can be a goal in itself.. but you get
my point. Haha).
So here goes my own
list of New Year’s resolutions which fingers-crossed, I hope to fulfill in
2017:
1. To take physical fitness more seriously
I’m turning 23 this year and I could only hope things are
not yet too late to engage into a healthier and a more active lifestyle. For
the most part of my existence so far, I really didn’t mind taking care of my
health thinking that I’m still too young to consider it as a serious matter. In
2017, I promise to improve my physical fitness through ensuring that I eat a
proper diet and that I engage into physical activities more often that will
promote a fitter physique. I’m not into sports and I’m not changing that. LOL.
But I promise to at least make a jogging routine. Mountain climbing will still
be part of the list. And oh, I hope I could also enroll in gym classes this
year (not for muscle build-up though haha but simply for maintaining a fit body).
To eat more veggies is also part of the plan.
2. To improve savings
Every working young professional really finds it hard to
save. Or is it just me struggling on this? Haha. Here’s the thing: not all
accountants (like myself) know how to handle their own money, but they do know
how to count and keep the resources of others. Haha. In 2017, I will continue
doing the budget scheme I started in 2016. I will try to tighten my spending,
promise not to be an impulsive buyer, and carefully plan and think my purchases
through before any cash outlay. Budget on domestic and international travels
will have to undergo thorough planning and budget will have to come from my
travel fund. Not only should savings markedly increase in 2017, but the
discipline of it should be solidified even more.
3. To learn to say “no” when needed
When it does not promote your growth in any way, or when it
will only waste your time and money, or when it will not open your eyes to new
experiences and learnings, or will not in any way make you feel alive, learn to
say “no” to this kind of things. There will come a point in your life when you
will prefer staying at home and having family and “me” time than spending the waning
hours of your day in parties and other forms of leisure. Take it from a 22-year
old. Haha. Kidding. Maybe this is just me and my introvert self, who knows? However,
never decline an opportunity that will help you get reconnected and rekindle
old friendships no matter how brief or rushed the appointment is. In life, you
gotta stay connected somehow to the people who have helped you reach where you
are right now.
4. To read the bible more often
I won’t be a hypocrite here and say I’m as religious as how
a Catholic should be. Don’t get me wrong: I do believe in a greater God who is
the source of everything. If anything, what I only want is for me to personally
do something to increase my faith in God. In 2016, I bought my personal bible
because there was a point that I felt I needed to. Sadly, for the most part of
2016, it just remained in its box. In 2017, I’m making sure to read and hear
more of the Word.
5. To write more frequently as possible
Some people wonder why I put lengthy captions in my IG
posts. Haha. Actually, I aspired at one point to make my Instagram feed as sort
of a photo blog ‘in lieu’ of the actual blog that I keep. Here’s what I believe:
after a long time and I suddenly find the need to travel back down to memory
lane through my IG feed, I want to see not just photos—I want to remember the
emotions and the feels which the photos tried to capture. And as I believe that
memory is one treacherous friend, I want to remember as much as I could through
the narrations (captions) of the photos. Haha. Anyway, that’s just me and my
kaartehan. Haha. In 2017, I will strive to journalize in my blog the memories I
will be creating in 2017, the good and the bad alike, the ups and the downs.
Unlike previous years, I won’t wait for the year-end to recall everything that
has transpired during the year. I will definitely write more this 2017.
***
Making New Year’s resolutions is indeed an opportunity to evaluate
and reflect about the recent year that passed. It does not only have a prospective
nature, but retrospective as well, because clearly, you cannot attempt to
resolve or change something unless you figure out first what has gone wrong in
2016. It takes self-awareness and the ability to admit the things that needed
fixing, and ultimately, it takes tenacity to confront change and to set things
right in the new year that has come. If anything, New Year offers us not a new
life, but an opportunity to make the old one better.
Happy New Year everyone! What's your new year resolutions?
