I will stop eating junk. I will stop dating terrible boys. I will start working out. I will go to bed earlier. I will stop being negative. I will loose weight. I will start being positive. I will be different. I will be happy. I will travel. I will work and work hard. These are the things we tell ourselves as we enter a new year. We will suddenly, with the change of a calendar, become new, and improved versions of ourselves. These resolutions may be great but all together don’t seem very fair or possible. We are human, and we will mess up, our New Years resolutions should reflect that.

For my resolutions, I will be realistic, while still looking for self-improvement. I will still eat ruffles and dip. I will be positive, but sometimes negative. I will love hard and deeply. I will try to make America kind again. I will still drink Coke. I will try to go to the gym, well, at least once a week. I will cut down on my Starbucks consumption, if possible, but I will cave when all I need in this world is a Venti Vanilla Latte with 5 shots of vanilla (oops). I will still live life. I will travel. I will probably still sometimes date these terrible boys. I will be happy with my imperfections. I will still order Insomnia Cookies at 2 a.m. I will try to be an activist and push the world to be better not just for me, but for all. I won't punish myself when I fail.

As I enter 2017 I will adopt the phrase “new year, better me”. I will not change to become unrecognizable to the girl I was in 2016, as I do often like her, but I will make a real attempt to improve. I will grow and mess up, and sometimes fall short. Cheers to the New Years.