When I was constantly busy last semester with five classes, a job, a club, and a fatigue that never seemed to fade no matter how much sleep I got, I promised myself I would devote the upcoming semester to taking care of myself. I needed to adjust how I balanced responsibility with time for myself. I’m working this break - between 35 and 40 hours each week - and I’m met with the same conundrum I was with the previous semester: I have so little free time. When I am free, I spend it stressing out about who knows what - FAFSA, tuition, graduation, my upcoming internship. Among the greatest lessons anyone has ever taught me is that you must find a way to make each day special. Every day, you have to have fun. Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks says that you should give yourself a present every day.

2017 is beginning soon. I have various goals, bucket list items, and resolutions I would like to achieve in the upcoming year. I would like to be in better tune with my feminism. When I return to Kalamazoo, I intend to donate some of my clothes to women’s shelters and see if I can volunteer. I want to enjoy more content created by women - women who write, direct, make music, and and especially if it’s any combination of those three. I want to put down my fellow women a lot less. I want to compare myself less. I want to build other women up, cultivating confidence not only in myself but in other girls as well. I’m going to brave my fear and consult Planned Parenthood about an IUD. I want to learn how to play the ukulele. 2017 will be the year in which I relish in my womanhood.

Agent Cooper was right about treating yourself every day - but not always through material or monetary means. In 2017, I intend to treat myself every day. Waking up early enough to enjoy a cup of coffee. Setting aside to read for pleasure, not just endless textbook pages. Spending more time writing. Calling family and friends more regularly. Taking time to do things I love to do. In 2017, I will watch more movies, read more books, take more photos, and I would like to get my short film idea off the ground. 2017 will be a year for creativity and setting aside plenty of time to do it.

When 2017 concludes, I hope I am proud of what I accomplished. I could have never predicted what 2016 would introduce to me - new friends, a new hobby in filmmaking, goals that seemed impossible achieved. Although I may be imaginative, I can’t predict what 2017 will entail. I think that’s the best part - that you can’t predict what will happen. I understand that it won’t be easy. In fact, it will often be tiring - especially with the scoundrel elect who is going to assume office in less than a mouth. Yet in 2017, I promise positivity. I will be positive with myself, my friends, my family, and everyone with whom I interact. I will complain less, volunteer more, and be there for my family and friends.