Holy crap!
This year has been a roller coaster. To be completely honest, I’m a bit surprised we’ve made it through. If nothing else it has taught me the value of the moment we’re in right now. This year, let’s make a New Year’s Resolution that sticks. We’re not promised another chance next year, so we have to make this moment count. I don’t mean let’s promise to lose weight, hit the gym, or switch to an all kale diet. Let’s come up with something creative. Something that will change our lives for the better or make us smile every day. Then let’s figure out how to keep that shiny New Year’s Resolution and make it happen.
With all the time we’ve spent in quarantine this year, I’m sure you’ve had a chance to watch all the good stuff on Netflix, play through your favorite video game, and maybe even read a few books. Now there’s nothing holding you back. So, crack your knuckles, put on your getting shit done outfit, and, in the words of Nike and Shia LaBeouf, “Just Do It!”
5 Creative New Year’s Resolution Ideas for Students
1: Make a Big, Scary Change
I find that I get quite comfortable in my little bubble. All that cozy warmth I’ve built up in here makes it a bit tricky to leave, like having to get up to pee in the middle of a cold winter night. So instead of promising yourself, that you’re going to do (insert basic idea here) every day, commit to one big scary change. Chop off all of your hair, buy a new wardrobe, change your major, get a new job, move out of your parents’ house, heck, move out of the state. The idea is to get completely out of your warm comfy bubble and shock your system into making some long-lasting changes.
2: Learn Something New
Commit to learning a skill that is totally out of your realm. I’m not talking football star learns baseball kind of new either. I mean a huge leap of faith, football star learns pointe ballet. If you’re an artist that spends your time working your butt off at your desk, take up an intramural sport. If you’re a super student, learn some nature activities, and get out in the wild. If you’re a wallflower who likes to hide in the background, join your community theater or an improv group. The major perspective switch will help you get out of your own head and experience new movement, thoughts, and people. You can count this as a New Year’s victory when you either get really good at your new activity, stick to it for a certain amount of time, or have a ton of fun doing it!
3: Embark on a Quest
Have you noticed that what makes a story truly great is the quest? It’s foundational in turning the loser who lives under his uncle’s stairs into the most famous wizard of all time. Now our favorite characters are usually forced into the quest by some apocalyptic level problem, but who’s to stop you from embarking on your own? Sit down and come up with some ideas for a huge adventure. I mean drop the ring in Mount Doom level huge. Then, go do it. Your resolution doesn’t have to be basic. Start a volunteer project, join the peace core, raise money for your favorite charity, create a new school organization, and get people hyped about it. You want the quest to be big enough to really change your life and the way you see the world around you. Maybe you change someone else’s life along the way.
4: Change Your Space
Space and people we spend the most time with have a looming influence over our lives. This can be a wonderful thing, but it can also keep you a bit stuck. Sometimes what you need to get reinvigorated is a simple change of space. There are a few ways you can go about this. You can pack up and move. You can paint the walls, get some brand new pictures, strings some lights, and go all kinds of budget reno in your dorm room. You can also just get out more. Do your homework somewhere else, read at a coffee shop, take your sketchbook to the beach for an outdoor session. Don’t forget to take some before and after pictures to celebrate your new adventure. Just because you can’t afford the ridiculous cliffside mansion of your dreams right now doesn’t mean the space you’re in shouldn’t bring you joy!
5: Make a New Friend
Friends come in all shapes and sizes. They can be easily found or hard to come across. At school, seeing the same people day in, and day out could limit your perspective, so get out and meet someone new. This can take on many forms. You can volunteer at a nursing home and ask the residents about their lives, volunteer as a big brother or sister and get to know and support the younger generation, you could take a ride to your local animal shelter and come home with a pup, rabbit, or rat a tat tat. What’s important is that you continue opening yourself up to new perspectives, opinions, adventures, and possibilities.
How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution
Make a Plan and Execute it (like order 66)
Now that you’ve chosen a 2021 New Year’s Resolution, how are you going to make sure the job gets done? You have to start with a killer plan. Lay down your mission, a deadline, big steps, and the substeps it will take to accomplish your goal. I want you to go a step further and write down the reward you’re going to give yourself when you cross the finish line and reach the ultimate New Year’s Resolution victory!
Plan Example
Mission:
Floating Away by Kailey Lauren Kelly 2020 Prismacolor Marker and Ink
I want to clean and organize my closet by the end of the week. What can I say? I live for a good organizing session.
Big Step 1:
See what is actually in there.
1) Take Everything out
2) Sort items into groups of similar things. (shirts, pants, bags, etc.)
Big Step 2:
Decide what is important enough to keep
1) Create a Keep, Donate, and Trash Pile
2) Go through each category and decide which pile each item belongs to.
3) If you want this to be more fun do it with some friends and put on a fashion show.
Big Step 3:
Put it back in an organized way.
1) Decide how you want to sort what’s left. I highly suggest a rainbow order whenever possible. (Color, size, style, etc.)
2) Sort the items in relation to the system you created. (I like to sort by type of item, color, and level of fanciness)
3) Put them back in the closet so you can see everything you have.
Treat Yo’ Self
Since you turned your closet into a rainbow paradise, grab your best friend and your pup and go get a rainbow Freak Shake to share! Don’t forget to get your pup a treato too!
You Kept Your New Year’s Resolution, Reward Yourself!
I know there will be loads of differing opinions about how to accomplish your goals, but trust me when I tell you this is the most important part. If your reward for doing something awesome is more stuff on your to-do list, you will never get anything done. You know why? Because you didn’t give yourself anything to work for. That’s why competitions give away trophies and prizes, it’s why school has a ranking system that awards the top participants with scholarship possibilities and it’s why jobs offer promotions.
So come up with a really fun activity, or the item you’ve had your eye on and put a picture of it on the wall, set it as your phone background, and tape it to your bathroom mirror. This way you’ll know what you’re working for the whole time. Most importantly, make a big deal about giving it to yourself! You earned it, so celebrate!
It’s Your Life, Live It Your Way
It’s a brand new year and you’re not promised the next one. Don’t let your New Year’s Resolutions become a series of promises you’re inevitably going to break. If you feel like you’re in a rut, or you just want to crawl out of the hole that was 2020, take the necessary steps to do so. The biggest wall in your way is probably yourself so let’s break some barriers in 2021, and accomplish things we barely dreamed possible. Then, buy yourself a freakshake!
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