It's that time of the year again. We make resolutions for the beginning of each year. However, many fall through. I decided to make the overall resolution of improving and starting my own life finally and decided to do more for myself.

1. Improving My Health

This does not just mean losing weight or going to the gym on a routine basis. I want to improve my health by making healthier eating decisions, spend more time with yoga, and take care of my mental health. As someone with anxiety, that can be hard to do. By learning some of the patterns that I have this year, I can make decisions to help improve in 2017.

2. Spend Time with People Who Matter to Me

Throughout 2016, I think we can all agree that we have met some people and our relationships seem fairly toxic. I learned this year that the people I used to be around with and spend time with in the past caused me such grief to the point where it was hard to cut them out. Now that I realize who my friends are and who supports me, I want to focus more time out of school and with those people. I want to learn how to build healthy, meaningful relationships.

3. Travel

This perhaps sounds very cliche, but in all honesty, the last time I went out of Ohio outside of exploring Northern Kentucky was back in 2013 at Virginia Beach. I think I am allowed to go on a few smaller trips and explore cities and states I have never been to before.

4. Spend Less Time on Social Media

Being in journalism, it feels like you always have to be on social media. Some of my stress in 2016 was caused by social media, and I want to make a goal of finding that balance to be active but not overwhelmingly active to the point where I'm glued to it all the time.

5. Read More

Ideally, I would love to get a Kindle and get books, graphic novels, comics, and anything else I could get my hands on. I have not read outside of class in what feels like ages. There is a saying that in order to be a better writer, one must read more. I sometimes feel like I do not do enough pleasure reading and that is something I would love to pursue.

6. Get Off Campus More

As a full-time student, student worker, and resident advisor, I am constantly wrapped up in on-campus life. I love being able to be on campus. However, this is my first full year living in Cincinnati as I went home the last two summers. I want to explore the city, the region, and learn about my new home.

7. Be Comfortable in My Own Skin

This one is probably going to be the hardest for me, but I want to work on this probably the most. As someone who is genuinely on the larger end of the spectrum, I want to improve my health, but I also want to figure out what makes me feel good. Walking around, especially with anxiety, makes me feel extremely self conscious, and I want to learn how to feel comfortable and confident in my own skin and body.

8. Finding a Balance Between Work, School, and Personal Life

This was also another struggle I had. For the longest time, especially this semester, I dealt with a lot of personal issues. I kept clouding myself with work and school and never faced more of my personal life. I want to ensure that I can find a balance and a healthy one at that. I refuse to let work and school take over my life completely. Both are important, but work and school do not make up my full picture.

9. Enjoy My Senior Year of College

Credit hours wise, I will be a senior this spring semester. However, I will not be graduating until the spring of 2018. The 2017-2018 school year marks my final year in my undergraduate career. I want to make as many memories as I can to remember what it was like to be a senior in college more than what it was like to be a senior in high school.

“I always worried about you because you marched to the beat of your own drum. But now I know that’s good. I know your life will be an adventure.” This quote is said in a letter from Betty in Mad Men to her daughter Sally in Mad Men in season seven when her cancer came back. However, that single letter redeemed her character, in my opinion, and sold her voice. I am only 20, and my life is only just getting started despite the obstacles.

Some of these goals may seem far fetched, and they may be criticized because I did not put "volunteer or donate" more or any of those items. I am very involved in my community, but I committed myself too much this year. 2017 is the year that I want to improve my quality of life and begin the process of building a life.