New Year's resolutions are a topic on everyone's mind this time of year. With a new calendar year approaching, there comes the notion that suddenly you can re-create yourself, through a promise of exercise, saving money, or spending your free time on a hobby you find enjoyable. A question that always comes to mind is "What makes these ideas so wrong to implement at other times of the year? Why does a new year mean that we can finally get our sh*t together?"

Shouldn't we always strive to be our best self? That is what I am promising to myself this year. Not to be a "new year, new me," but rather someone who is always taking the strides to enhance my life. Yes, I am rolling my eyes at how cliche this all sounds; but earlier this year, I took steps to stop focusing on what others thought and perceived of me, and to make decisions on how they made me feel. A literal weight has been lifted off my shoulders since then, and I have had one less source of stress on my plate. What if this principle was applied to other areas of my life?

This year I want to focus on performing to the best of my ability in activities that revolve around both mind and body. Yes, I am taking the easy route and saying that like most of our country, I could be in better shape. I hope to strive in making healthier choices, whether is it choosing water over my much loved soda, exercising with friends, or cooking a healthier meal and resisting the temptation of ordering a pizza.

I want to work on being more spontaneous and do something that truly gets me out of my comfort zone. I love to play the Devil's advocate in situations (it may be the Capricorn in me), and I want to try and focus on being more positive and have a glass-half-full outlook on life. At the same time, it is a time in my life where I have to set goals and look towards the future and what I will do after college, as scary as that sounds. I want to keep my rationality, and not get sucked into a sense of comfort -- and work to achieve the goals I have planned for myself.

This year I will hit many mile stones including turning 21, starting my final year of college, and voting for the first time in a national election. This last thing I am particularly looking forward to. In the past I have followed the process half-heartedly, knowing enough to hold my own in a conversation, but knowing that I couldn't have a say in the outcome of the election. This year I will work towards following along with the election and educating myself on the various candidates on both sides so that when November comes around, I will know I placed my vote to the best of my ability.

With the beginning of 2016, let's not make half-hearted promises to improve some basis of our lives, but rather to work to improve ourselves all year and beyond.