Welcome to 2019! It's that time of year where everyone makes and proclaims their resolution for the new year. Personally, I've never been the type to stick to a resolution, let alone even really make one at all. In the past, if I had made one, it was surely forgotten or pushed aside within the first few weeks of January. But this year I decided to switch it up. Rather than make a generic resolution that'll soon be neglected, I've decided to choose an "anthem."

Although an anthem is defined as a song, I'm choosing to view my anthem as a phrase or a couple of words, basically a theme for this year. My anthem is something I want to live by throughout the entirety of 2019 and all the years to come. It's something that I want to focus on and aim towards in my life as I take on the next set of 365 days. No, it's not necessarily your typical resolution that revolves around working out, eating healthier, or traveling more, for example. This anthem is more of a mantra or a motto. I think that having an anthem over a list of resolutions is more important as it's not just a one and done type of thing. It's not just going to the gym and calling it a day, it's not just hitting a goal weight and ending it there, it's not just traveling to one new place and crossing it off your to-do list. An anthem is something you can always apply to almost any situation you encounter throughout the year. An anthem for the new year is something that will always stick with you and will always be there, it's not something that can just be checked off a list. While resolutions may come and go, an anthem stays.

For me personally, I have chosen a song lyric to be my anthem for 2019. If you truly know me, you know my love for music, specifically alternative music from the 90s, despite the fact that I never even lived in them. So for my anthem, I chose the following lyrics from the song "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger: "If you're bored, then you're boring." In the song's case, this phrase refers to those who are bored with the art and music being put out into the world, but they are too boring to create something of their own. I've decided to use this phrase in a broader way, a way that I can apply it to any situation or opportunity that life hands me. I don't want to be bored and I don't want to be boring. If I'm bored with something, I don't want to blame the circumstance. I want to acknowledge and understand that I am the one who chose not to enjoy or appreciate it. So in 2019, I want to take every situation, savor it and make the best of it. I want to view and do things this year in a more positive, adventurous, encouraging, and new way. I want to truly grasp that if I'm bored, I'm boring and that it is something I need to change.

So here's to 2019 and all the new opportunities this year will bring us. Whether you're good at sticking to your resolutions or not, I encourage everyone to create their own anthem for this year. It's a great way to shed new light and perspective on life and I hope everyone can benefit from their anthem as I aspire to in 2019. Happy New Year everyone, let's make it a good one.