Hey you! Yes you, the person reading this. The new year just started, and you probably have set some “resolutions” or things you want to do to better yourself, or maybe you haven’t. Regardless, I think you need to slow down and think for a second about your life in this new year.

2018 has the potential to be your best year ever, your worst year ever that you would like to forget about, or just simply another year. When it comes down to it, its all about the effort you put into it. You can’t expect this year to be your best if you sit on a couch everyday doing the bare minimum just to get by. In fact, if you are living a lazy, uncaring lifestyle, I would be extremely surprised if that’s what made you happy. I don’t know about you, but playing video games in my parent’s basement for every day of the year doesn’t sound the greatest. It's all about putting in everything you have, and I promise at some point you will see the results come back to you. The easiest example of this is trying to live a healthier lifestyle for your body. Going to the gym every day, grinding as hard as you can, and eating better is the path to seeing your body improve and become more fit and healthier. If you don’t do any of those things but expect to get a six-pack in a week by doing a sit-up a day, you are sadly mistaken.

You also probably want to make 2018 as memorable as possible. It is basic human nature to want to make the new year better than the last. You are going to want to look back on 2018 and remember it with a smile on your face and a head full of memories. If you reach the end of the year and are waiting for the clock to strike 12 so the year can end, and you can’t look back at it and see any worthwhile memories, you have done something wrong. You can’t blame the year for being boring, you can only blame yourself; a number doesn’t define your happiness.

The most important thing I have to say happens now, so you might want to pay special attention to this. If something goes wrong this year, (let’s face it, something is going to happen. It’s a sad reality but its true,) and life knocks you down, get back up. Do not, I repeat do not let it be the end of you. Do not let something ruin you. If something makes you mad, take a step back before you react. Go for a walk, listen to music, go to the gym, calm down. Once you’ve done this, think to yourself: will this bother me tomorrow? How about in a couple of weeks? In a few months, will this be worth getting mad about? Once you figure out the severity in this way, then you should know how to act. Don’t do something stupid that could potentially make the whole thing a million times worse. If something makes you sad, it's okay to be sad. Something might happen that will ruin your mood for days, weeks, or even months, but nothing is worth crying over forever. Sometimes, all you want to do is call it quits, for everything to just end, for the curtain to close and for the lights to fade to black. I understand, I’ve been there-- a lot actually. I know for me personally, 2017 was a roller coaster of emotions that never let up. I would be lying if I said it never passed my mind to just be done. I thought I found happiness, and that happiness was taken away as quickly as it came. But I’m here to say, don’t. let. your. story. end. Stars can not shine without darkness. You will fall, but you have the choice to get back up. Who do you want to be known as: the person who fell and stayed down, or the person who was able to rise to their feet and stand to the face of their demons?

You may lose something that defines you, but you can… you know what? Forget can, you WILL get it back. Fight for what is yours, don’t let something that means so much to you slip away. Life is tough, but so are you. Don’t let 2018 just be another year in your history, make it THE year in your history. Smile more friends.