Lessons:

1. Everything comes back around.
2. Being uninspired is a cry for help: Burnout and writer’s block aren’t just about being stumped. It’s being held back by something. Perfectionism, insecurities, exhaustion, angst. These don’t go away with time, they go away with change.
3. Nothing will ease the mind more than balance.
4. Sometimes it’s worth putting in more effort than you get back.
5. Do your research.
6. As much as it sucks, you have to talk through problems: It ain’t fun for anyone. But it’s the only way. And in the end, it’s not as bad as you thought it would be.
7. Expecting the worst is not realistic.
8. Tone it down in karaoke.
9. Having your head in the clouds is keeping your feet from the ground: Every once in a while, you have to come down from your fantasy and accept responsibility in the real world.
10. There’s nothing better than a good cry.
11. CHANGE IS OK.
12. Getting ahead is the best thing you can do ever in the whole world.
13. I am so lucky to be so loved and so in love. I have found something unlike anything I’ve ever had before. Taking it for granted would be the ultimate sin.
14. Coffee is my addiction and I will never go to rehab.
15. Long distance is a bitch.
16. Deleting TikTok is the best decision in the history of decisions.
17. Plants are the best.
18. Never ignore a wake-up call.
19. When in doubt, take a walk through IKEA.
20. Everyone is going through something: No one has everything figured out. No one is exempt from grief and stress. No one is secure. No one lives life without fear. To accept that everyone has something going on is to accept that no one is alone.
21. Never try to put a kitten in a onesie.
22. Starting the day with my intentions is an easy way to hold myself accountable.
23. Honesty is empowering: Being honest with myself and others about who I am, how I feel, and what I want, is a form of manifestation. Being honest is being true. Being honest is being authentic. Truth and authenticity are two of the most valuable characteristics a person may embody. Why be someone I am not, why want things I can’t have, why be scared of things that are not real? What a waste of time.

Resolutions:

1. Forgive more. Forget less.
2. Take more pictures.
3. Think more before you talk: One, sometimes my intentions do not come across when I say things. People take things the way they hear them without knowing the thoughts behind them. Two, sometimes not speaking my mind is the best way to be with people. Some times, listening is better than speaking…Most times, listening is better than speaking.
4. Go to a concert: If you know, you know.
5. Read more.
6. Enjoy the little things.
7. Keep up the good habits: Getting work done early and on time, spending time with my friends, making my bed, taking notes, going the extra mile.
8. Lose the bad habits: Sleeping in, losing my temper, making assumptions, holding myself back, being reckless.
9. Spend less money: Was this on last year’s resolutions? Yes. Did I listen to myself? Hell no.
10. Find my worth.
11. Listen to new music.
12. Start every day with gratitude.
13. Be vulnerable more: Trying to seem perfect quickly turns into looking arrogant. It’s okay to admit you’re wrong. It’s okay to admit you’re going through something. It’s okay to apologize.
14. More self-care.
15. Be your friends’ biggest fans in everything they do.
16. Be unafraid.
17. Treat people with kindness.
18. Speak smarter. Act with intelligence. Be with more consideration.
19. Be more loving: You know you love them, but how would they tell? Show it.
20. Stop interrupting.
21. Slow down. Stop rushing. Be patient. Let go. Inhale. Exhale.
22. Don’t let the monotony and grayness and yuckiness of Winter term get to you.
23. Continue to grow: The best trait a person can have is malleability. I am a different person from who I was at this point last year, last month, yesterday. I grow new roots, branches, and leaves constantly. Some may die, while some may flourish, and I will accept this. That’s what life is for.
24. Be someone my younger self would admire: Thinking of seven-year-old Julia looking up at me now, I can only imagine her thoughts. Maybe she’s in awe, maybe she thinks I’m as cool as the college kids I remember seeing in my youth. Maybe she’s excited to be me, or maybe she’s terrified. Maybe she thinks I’m like thirty (I was never good with age perception). Maybe she thinks I’m smart, or maybe she can’t understand a word I’m saying. Maybe she’ll relate to me, maybe she won’t see herself in me. There’s no way to know. But all I can do is hope to be a person she can look up to, a person she can feel safe with, a person she can learn to love.