This time of year is thought to be the chance for a brand new beginning, reinventing yourself and your ideals. With 2016 behind us, 2017 feels like a breath of fresh air. People create never-ending lists of resolutions (who hasn’t thought about joining a gym or sworn to conquer their sugar addiction?) and spend their New Year’s Eve celebrating the hope that each new year brings.

Have Your Voice Heard: Become an Odyssey Creator

It’s a time that many turn to the “New Year, New Me” mentality. One must admit, we are all open to the idea of a clean slate, allowing New Years to become the perfect opportunity to instigate new goals and commit to change. Unfortunately, many people get caught up their ideal future self, causing them to believe that a simple change in the date had altered their entire life.

In the past, I’ve believed in this magical “New Me” concept. As soon as the clock struck midnight, I was supposed to be a new person. It felt as if each New Year’s Midnight was a moment when my life completely restarted. Each year I would create a different resolution. I would be the “New Elizabeth” who ate more vegetables or exercised more than 3 times a week. This fantasy would continue on for a few days until I went out with my friends or headed back to school, where suddenly I realized I was still the same Elizabeth as last year. I couldn’t get rid of my past with a resolution causing me to give up and surrender. I couldn’t get rid of “old” me.

While casting our old selves to the side may seem ideal, the things that happened in 2016 are not going to go away (as much as we wish they might). The heart breaks, as well as the celebrations will help us to make future decisions, becoming an integral part of shaping our unique identity. So this begs the question, how do you create a “new you” for 2017, while still embracing the world you've already experienced?

Maybe instead of a new you, it’s time for a better version of yourself. While we can all attempt the stereotypical New Year’s resolutions (like losing weight) and phrases like “New Year, New Me” and try to apply them to our own lives, at the same time, we forget that these resolutions really could have the ability to affect our reality and our future.

So it’s time to come up with goals that will better affect our futures. These goals do not ask us to change old habits, but to better them, helping to create a positive mentality. This year presents the opportunity to fine-tune oneself, becoming the person you were truly meant to be. So when deciding what resolutions to embrace, choose goals that you are actually willing to embrace, things that will not only challenge you, but allow you to grow and mature. Start 2017 with a simple resolution: have the determination become a wiser, stronger, more loving you.