Wow! A whole year already. I can’t honestly say that this year has flown by quickly or moved slowly, but it’s gone…well, an expected pace I guess. With a new year comes reflections and resolutions, both which I am not great at. One because I have a poor memory, and the other because I make too many goals.
At this time last year, I was anxious and optimistic. I was slowly getting closer to the date of my first ever half marathon, frustrated with injury and filled with butterflies.
Then, I ran two more.
Last year, I was in Rochester. I had been in my first job for nearly a year. I was settled and relatively happy, learning to live on my own, and becoming closer to a fantastic group of friends each day. Not only did I make friends at home, but at work too. Something that I didn’t think was a real concept. I thought friends at work were just “people I’ll get lunch with,” but I’ve proven to myself that those people mean a lot more than that.
Over this past year I did a lot of things. Some were amazing, others were not as glamorous. I cried. I cried a lot more than I probably have in a whole year for a lot of different reasons, but I smiled too.
I traveled to Portland, Tampa, and Nashville, with some smaller trips in between. Some were with friends and some were with family, and some were with a combination of the two. My favorite kinds.
This past year I re-connected with Alpha Phi Omega, the one organization that was with me through four years of college. It introduced me to new friends, which I was especially thankful for.
This past year I moved to Albany. I started a new job in a new city doing something completely different than what I was doing a year before. I haven’t taken a tally on the number of times I gave myself adult points, but I think between my new car, dead bugs, and cooking-related successes, I probably earned more than last year.
I also have a new housemate. My kitty. When I was a little kid I always wanted a cat, but my wish could never come true. Now, it’s weird to think about the empty feeling my apartment used to have. Even though she sleeps a lot, She’s still great company.
I hyper-focused on my body to the point where it was mentally unhealthy. I cried, screamed, yelled, and punished myself in ways I never should have. I wish I could say I’ve overcome it completely, but that self-doubt and self-consciousness still speaks up in the back of my head from time to time. I am proud to say that I have learned to silence it, or at least quiet it, most of the time. I signed up as a Beachbody coach and realized how much my story could inspire others. It is an amazing feeling, helping people to feel more confident, one that I can’t describe.
Last year I tried to make some resolutions. I made only 4 with the intention of sticking to them. I stuck to one. I completed the Harry Potter series. I did not learn HTML or CSS successfully, I did not drink enough water, and there was a point where I struggled to see any positives in my situation. This year, I would like to make one resolution with the intention of doing it.
This year, I plan to wake up each day, and name one reason why I am happy. No repeats (or at least, repeating that I can remember).
I chose this as my resolution after a lot of thinking. I wanted my resolution to be fitness-based, but I needed to go further than that. It comes down to my mental health, something I have been ignoring lately. I have allowed myself to get stressed and worried, and somehow need to combat it.
I am really looking forward to this year; a happy, exciting, and new year!