New Year, New Rules (I Count ‘Em!)

Happy 2019, dear readers! Are you excited for the new year ahead? I certainly am. 2018 was a rough year for me emotionally. I had a broken engagement 3 months before the wedding to the man of my dreams who I had dated for TEN years (Calling Pity, Party of One). I spent the rest of 2018 trying to figure out my life and my future after the picture in my head titled "What My Life Will Look Like" started to look drastically different from reality. Long story short, I came across my old high school diary and was flipping through the pages when I discovered a page near the end that listed my goals I wanted to accomplish through high school and college. As the new year was approaching post-breakup, I decided that it would be the perfect time to create some personal goals to help me focus om myself and the new future I have in 2019. Who knows, maybe my goals will inspire you to set a few of your own for the new year.

1. LEAVING THE BAGGAGE BEHIND

My sister shared an article from a mental health blog about the concept of "leaving" things behind that might hinder our emotional growth. I loved the concept so much that I have decided to leave the heartbreak of my broken engagement behind in 2018. I can eventually celebrate the good times, but I've promised myself that all the heartbreak and baggage will stay firmly in 2018.

2. FOCUSING ON ME FIRST

There's a reason that the emergency guide on a plane instructs us to put our own oxygen mask on first before helping others. Nobody can pour from an empty cup. Similarly, if I'm tired and exhausted, mentally and emotionally, I'm of no use to my fellow "passengers". Having a chronic illness has also taught me a lot about the importance of focusing on my own needs first. For me, this could mean waking up a few hours earlier in the morning so that I can start my morning with a quiet cup of coffee, my Bible, meditation, and then social media before breakfast and the start of a hectic workday.

3. CHOOSING JOY

In today's world, there's a lot to be upset about and stress about. We can all quickly become Negative Nancys simply by reading the morning news or opening up social media to compare our everyday, messy lives to an Instagram stranger's perfectly filtered life. After spending the last two years being diagnosed with a chronic illness, having surgery, falling behind in my graduate degree, and ending a long term relationship, it was pretty easy to fall into a "woe is me" mentality. However, I quickly realized that my mood set the tone for the day. If I chose to see the good in things, there was always a silver lining; whereas, if I chose to see the bad in things, there was always plenty to be upset with. So I made a choice: I choose joy. Life may not be perfect, but there is always a silver lining.

I hope this inspires you to set some goals for the new year, new month, etc and I would love to hear about your own goals and rules for the new year in the comments. Here's to a fabulous 2019!   

The September Issue: Goals, a Book, and Fall Cleaning

A lot of people have New Year's resolutions. I, on the other hand, being very studious, had back-to-school or fall goals. One of my biggest goals this year is to tidy up and not accumulate so much stuff. I'm trying to live more simply and enjoy moments and people instead of things. I think fall is the perfect time to do this; as the weather gets colder, we tend to congregate inside more and spend time with our families and loved ones creating new memories. I'm a huge clutter-bug so tidying up isn't necessarily natural for me. For some help and inspiration I've started reading the book shown below by Marie Kondo.

I'm still reading this book, but it has given me helpful tips and insights into how to tidy up my physical surroundings and my mental space. Kondo talks about how younger siblings tend to accumulate more clothes since they are constantly getting hand-me-downs from siblings. Even though they may not wear it, they end up keeping it and it creates unnecessary clutter in their lives. I also love Kondo's mindset of only keeping things in your life that inspire love and passion. Why keep a sweater or a book or a pot, if you never use it and don't particularly enjoy it?

 My cleaning has also inspired my boyfriend to start cleaning as well as we try to simplify our lives. As a long distance couple, we have a lot of "stuff" in our lives mostly because we just have double of everything. As I am nearing the end of school and will be heading back to live with him soon, we are slowly trying to clean up the clutter and build a life together. If you want to hear more about our long distance relationship or how we are planning to consolidate our life, leave me a comment below!