Today is January 1st, 2017.

It is the first day of January, the first day of the new year, and the first day of the rest of our lives.

We woke up feeling powerful, motivated, focused and more in control of our lives than ever before. We have goals for this new year. Real, attainable goals. And we're not going to let anything get in our way.

Each year, we all make a New Years Resolution. For some of us, we make a list of resolutions that we'd like to work toward and conquer. These resolutions can range anywhere from being more healthy in our lifestyles, getting a gym membership (and actually going to the gym), to serious changes such as cutting the negative and toxic people out of our lives. While there's always room for improvement, we pick resolutions that we feel we need to work on the most. The ones that will greatly impact our lives for the better.

And this year... We are ready for this.

We are ready to take control and change our lives.

This year, we won't take no for an answer. We will make sure we get what we want.

This year, we won't let people hold us back. We will do what is best for us, even if that means letting someone else down.

This year, we won't just watch from the sidelines. We will stop being that girl who just observes everything and everyone. We will start doing what we should be doing, or what we want to be doing.

New Years is a time to reflect on who we are, who we have been, and who we want to be. It's a time to sit down with ourselves and decide what the hell we want out of this life. It is especially important for us to know that our dreams are achievable and attainable. It will take hard work, dedication and pure motivation to get us there, but if we really want it, we can have it. Up until now, it has been easy for us to feel unmotivated and lazy. We are "too tired," "not cut out for the job," or we "don't have enough time." But this year... it's different. This year we will fight harder for the things we want. Because this time, this is our year.

Get up and look at yourself in the mirror. Really look at yourself and repeat this: "This is my year. No more Excuses. This is my year. No more excuses." You need to do more than just say it. You need to believe it. You need to believe that you are capable of doing anything and everything you set your mind to. Stop telling yourself tomorrow. Get it done today, or it will never happen.

Life moves pretty fast. And if we have learned anything this last year, it's that the world doesn't stop for anybody. We either move forward and grow as a person, or we sit back and watch life happen. This year, we're not taking any chances. We can only go up from here. We can only improve our selves from here on out.

Because it's our lives. It's our year. It's our turn to make something of ourselves, and become the best version of us that we can be.

Here's to 2017 and the journey we have only just begun.

Hold on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.