2018 was a shit show for a thousand reasons, but here are all the things I wished I had followed through on from this time last year. Holy crap, 2017 was only a year ago????
Actually trained for that half marathon like I promised
In January, I told myself it was way too cold to be running miles and miles outside. And then all of a sudden life got busy, I was taking all these classes that were slowly ruining my life, I got a full-time job offer after graduation, I started working nights and all of a sudden it's December and I can hardly run a mile. Oops.
Seen that therapist
Look, kids, mental health is important. Especially when you're in college, and stress is essentially your sixth sense and you haven't eaten a vegetable that wasn't flash frozen in a $1 bag from Kroger since the last time you went home for the weekend. Even if you think you are the most well-adjusted person this side of the Mason-Dixon, therapy can be an incredible way to help you grow as a person. Also, I am a firm believer that everyone should probably go to therapy.
Cared just a little bit more about politics
Watching late night hosts satirize the current state of our union does not count as caring about politics. Retweeting people being outraged about the state of our union does not count as caring about politics. Hell, even actually reading about and understanding politics in its entirety does not count as caring anymore. I should have done more, volunteered more, done whatever because what's happening isn't chill with me, and I should have maybe given a little more of a shit.
Taken more time to talk to my parents
My mom is my best friend in the entire world, and I will always be a Daddy's girl. I wish that in 2018, I had taken more time to talk to parents about their lives and their days, instead of just texting them with complaints about my life and how tired I am. Who cares about how tired you are, Kate? No one.
Taken less naps
I know, can you even believe it? A college kid saying she wished she took LESS naps?? But seriously. I wasted a lot of time this year by saying that I'd be productive in an hour, and then napped for six. Naps are important and so is sleep, blah blah blah, but I ran away from a lot of things this year by telling myself I'd deal with it after I woke up from my nap. Which, in the grand scheme of things, isn't even really a nap. Maybe in 2019, I'll try to stick with taking naps that are actually naps, instead of full nights' sleep on the couch.
Read more for pleasure
There are sections of my ochem textbook that I can recite to you from memory, but I can't remember the last time I sat down and read a book that wasn't school or work related. If I dedicated time to reading for fun, I usually ended up just going to bed earlier because I was so darn tired from my day. I love to read, and I wish that instead of breaks involving playing around on my phone or scrolling through Facebook, I had picked up a book and got to really relax.
Paid more attention to my self esteem
I spent a lot of time this year choosing to see my failures or shortcomings instead of focusing on all the things that made me feel good about myself: my job, my friends, my family. I wish that I had spent more time on the things that made me feel confident and full of light, instead of fixating on the things that make me feel like shit about myself.
