As 2017 comes to an end and 2018 begins, I've been pondering whether or not I "need" a resolution for the new year. The short answer is no. I do not need a resolution just because January first is so close and neither does anyone else. I can decide to start going to the gym more or become cleaner at any point in the year and I'm kind of sick of feeling the pressure to change myself because of a made up deadline. But there is something that I think I need to sort of re-adopt as the new year comes.

People change a lot in a year and there's no reason to feel like you need to get back old parts of yourself. You're better off growing without them. But I do feel like as the year winds down, people lose their passion. At least, I know I have. It's a hard thing to hold onto because we can't be excited about the things we're doing forever. But I firmly believe that all it takes is a change in mindset. We have to look for the reasons why we were passionate about our art or projects or (for those of us who are truly lucky) our jobs.

For me, I've lost passion for my writing. Between Odyssey and the fact that I'm writing almost every day as an English major, I struggle to see writing as the creative outlet that I used to. I have no passion for it. The fact that I continue to force myself to write anyway really hasn't helped at all. But in the time that I've had to actually relax these past weeks, I've looked for ways to make my outlook about writing more positive.

I'm working on old writing projects that have been sitting in folders on my computer and I've found that I missed them more than I thought I would. I'll admit that it still requires a little bit of me forcing myself to write, but as time goes on I'm enjoying it more and more again. I'm seeing the old things that used to make me happy about writing and I'm feeling that indescribable feeling I always get when I create something. I feel passion again.

It's hard work. Probably harder than any other cliche new year's resolution. But I think this is more worthwhile and long-lasting. By finding a way to reclaim your passions, and yes, it will take some force and personal discipline, you will find happiness in your life that you may have felt like you were missing. Everyone loses their passion as time goes on. There's no shame in it and it's easier to lose than it is to find. But true personal strength comes from finding it again and being the person that you know that you can be again.