New year, new me?

Happy New Year! We are officially in a new decade and if the past 10 years for you were anything like mine, I think we are both celebrating surviving it a little bit more then others. 2009-2019 were a doozy, am I right? But hey, its a new year which can only mean one thing, new year, new me! Wait, what is that supposed to mean exactly? Oh that's right, its a new year so TV, celebrities, strangers and just about anyone on this Earth will spam you with weight loss programs, Botox/plastic surgery offers and a million other things to improve your self appearance because haven't you heard, new year, new me?!

I am all for the new year resolutions no matter how silly or dumb they may seem, but what I am not for is the overwhelmingly negative image majority of them bring to the younger generation and well, anybody really. I swear its only 12:01am and you've already got that one friend on facebook messaging you asking if you want to sign up for the weight loss shakes they are selling. OH hey happy new year and while you are at it, why not lose a few of those extra pounds you have. Now they don't exactly say it like that of course or they wouldn't sell any of them, but that is literally what it comes off as. Nobody needs to start their new year off having their personal struggles and vulnerabilities poked at.

I won't lie and say I have never been one of those people to create a new years resolution, trust me I have. I have fully been apart of that flock of people who all the sudden sign up to a gym membership, and then only show up for the first two weeks of January, never to be seen again. Been there done that. I also have been that person to say I am going to eat healthier or better and then one look at cookie dough ice cream and I'm gone. And see I created these in the past not for myself, but because of the pressure that time of year brings upon us all. The infamous guilt trap to force ourselves to do things that we really don't want to do. So to this new decade I will no longer say new year, new me, instead I will say the best me.

I don't have any official resolutions for this decade, instead I merely have words I will choose to live by. Words that will not define me but guide me, that will keep me focused on what's important and reel me back in when life gets hard. To this new decade I chose hope, joy, laughter and strength. I pray this next decade is nowhere near the last, but I know no matter what life will throw its own set of challenges and curveballs at me, and to those I will pray for strength. Strength to keep pushing on when it gets hard, to get back up no matter how many times I may fall and to keep kicking a** for my little girl. I pray for hope on those dark days that I know will come, that I am may always see the bright side in everything and above all, hope for a beautiful future for my daughter and I. I pray to not only find Joy but fully live and embrace it in the moment every day, especially in the little things. And I pray this next decade is filled with more laughter then I can handle. The laughter of my own, my family and friends and the sweet giggles of my little girl, please let this next decade be overflowing with that one above all. This next decade I choose to better who I am currently by filling my life with things that bring me joy, instead of ones that provoke my anxiety and lessen my self confidence.

To hell with the new year, new me. Eat those desserts, wear no makeup, travel the world, tell off the negative people in your life, seriously live this next decade for yourself. There is no better time then now to be happy and chase after your dreams. Life is too short to waste it pleasing people at the expense of your own happiness.

So to this new decade I say hello. I say hello to new opportunities, friendships and inner peace. Goodbye 2009-2019, may the past stay the past along with anyone who doesn't truly have your best interest at heart. New year, hello best version of me.

PS. Start a grateful jar! Every day of this year write down a memory that sparks joy, laughter or that made you grateful. On New years eve empty the jar and read everything you wrote from this past year, see just how much you have to be grateful for! I've started this and it truly reminds you to find the good in every day:)