My favorite parts of December? Gift-giving, spending time with my family, having a break from classes, drinking hot chocolate, and figuring out my New Year’s resolutions. For some, picking out a New Year’s resolution can be really difficult — it’s not easy trying to find one specific thing you want to change about your life and actually devising a plan to go about making the change. But for me, I thrive off of figuring out what my New Year’s resolutions are.
Having severe ADHD and mild depression, I often struggle with motivation — especially when it comes to bettering myself. But when it comes to New Year’s, I always feel an overwhelming urge to become the best version of myself that I can be… new year new me, right? Last year, my New Year’s resolutions (yes, I always choose multiple…) were to stop seeking male validation, learn to be okay alone, and do my skincare everyday. While I failed to maintain consistency within my skincare routine (but I already have naturally clear skin so this one isn’t as much of a biggie), I did fulfill the other two resolutions!
I’ve really been telling myself that 2026 is my year. I (finally) graduate this year and am also planning on moving abroad soon after graduation — meaning I have to get my sh*t together; and what better way to do this than by setting a whole list of New Year’s resolutions to abide by? Struggling to figure out what to make your New Year’s resolution this year? Don’t worry bestie, take inspo from me — I have nine set-in-stone New Year’s resolutions guaranteed to turn me into that girl by mid-2026.
My New Year’s Resolutions
- No Social Media
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I’ll be honest: I have a crippling social media addiction. Despite having deleted both Instagram and TikTok off of my phone, I still manage to spend every second of my free time on my laptop, scrolling through Instagram or watching TikToks — and it has to be put to a stop.
Two summers ago, amidst losing phone storage while in Hawai’i, I finally deleted social media. It did absolute wonders for my mental health; my screentime went down to two hours a day, my nose was shoved in books 24/7, and I truly felt mentally free. Until I redownloaded Instagram a few months later. Queue my crippling phone addiction, to the point where I’m now addicted to YouTube Shorts. Realistically, I’m probably going to have to block the Instagram and TikTok websites on my laptop, as well as deactivating all of my many Instagram accounts in order to break my social media addiction, but I know it’ll be life-changing.
It isn’t until you delete social media that you really recognize how much the average individual spends their phone — watching TikTok while eating breakfast, spending way too long trying to get the perfect Instagram shot to match your feed, enjoying an entire concert through your camera app rather than putting your phone down and enjoying the moment, forcing your friends to make random thirst trap TikToks before going out instead of drinking and socializing, sitting on phones at restaurants with friends. We spend so much of our lives centered around our phones that it becomes hard to remember that there was once a time where people just… didn’t have phones at all. With all of that being said, I’m determined to spend 2026 living in the moment — not trying to figure out how to curate the perfect Instagram dump.
- Try New Foods
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Gosh, I feel like the most basic person alive by writing down that one of my New Year’s resolutions is to “try new foods,” but hear me out!
I am notoriously known among my friends and family as a picky eater. I’ve toned down my pickiness a lot over the past several years — I went from being a girl who wouldn’t put marinara on her pasta and refused to even try mac and cheese (I was too picky to even eat chicken tenders), to being a girl that is only scared of funky foods that she hasn’t tried before (queue blue cheese, anything pickled, cottage cheese, olives). And considering the fact that I’m going on six years of being vegetarian, it’s lowkey difficult being a picky eater — y’all have no idea the visceral faces of disgust and shock I’ve seen when I tell people that I’m not the biggest salad fan.
And while I definitely do have those foods that I’ve tried and won’t try again (cough cough, pickles and mushrooms), I really want to branch out and try new foods this upcoming year. At my favorite restaurants, I always order the same thing because I know I’ll like it, but this stops now. It’s time for me to branch out and try some things I’ve never had before because, who knows? Maybe I’ll end up with a new favorite food (or at least, something I know to never eat again).
- Read At Least Two Books A Month
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If you know me, you know that I love reading. In the summertime, I frequently read at least 20 books — any free time I had was spent with my face in a book. However, when the semester starts, I get so busy and overwhelmed that I never even pick up a book, let alone read it. I’ve always told myself that I want to read more throughout the school year, but it never happens.
This year is different. By making an easily achievable SMART goal (BRB, getting flashbacks to my freshman year Kinesiology class), I’m hoping it’ll make me more inclined to read knowing I only have to get through two books in an entire month — something I can easily do in two days if I’m feeling motivated enough. Goodbye doomscrolling, hello to actually reviving my Goodreads account!
- No More Toxic Relationships
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Now, I know what you’re thinking: Emma, isn’t this already a requirement in your life? Um… nope.
For some god-awful reason, I constantly find myself in toxic relationships. It’s truly been the most inescapable cycle and no matter how hard I try to strive for healthy men, it’s almost like the toxic ones just flock towards me. However, after taking the time to decenter men from my life, I feel like I really do have the potential to rid off toxic men once and for all. Unless it’s Nate Jacobs… then I may have to make some exceptions.
- Stop Using ChatGPT
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OK, I’ll admit it — I use ChatGPT way too much. It’s affected how I complete assignments, makes it painful to write essays, and honestly, I’d be lying if I said I don’t use ChatGPT as my therapist sometimes. I used to love writing, to the point where I’d beg my friends to write their essays for them, but ever since ChatGPT gained popularity, I’ve lowkey started to dread writing.
And especially given its harm to the environment, I’m finally choosing to give up ChatGPT for good. Not only will it make me feel a lot better about the steps I take to protect the environment, but I’m also positive that it’ll help me bring my love for writing back — killing two birds with one stone!
- Get Back Into Spirituality And Crystals
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Back in high school, crystals and manifestation used to be my life. I’d spend so much of my free time manifesting, would bring crystals with me everywhere, and was often found roaming around crystal stores, seeing if specific crystals resonated with me before buying them. While I do still keep crystals on my bedside table (and occasionally sneak one in my purse before hitting the bar), I never cleanse or charge them (crystal girlies, YKWIM), and haven’t actually manifested in years.
Spirituality was such a big part of who I was and it honestly gave my life a sense of purpose and meaning. Plus, I was feasibly able to manifest practically anything I wanted. Going into the New Year, I’m hoping to fall back into my love for crystals and manifestation — I just need to whip out some selenite first (IYKYK).
- Become A Morning Person
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If I ever tell you that I like mornings, please know that I’m lying. While I will forever be a night owl until the day I die, I crave the type of lifestyle where I wake up at 6AM, go to pilates, make a chai, eat a hearty breakfast, and go about my day. Instead, I wake up about an hour before my early classes (with time allotted for doom-scrolling), put on clothes and do some light makeup, make myself a chai (no time to make breakfast, however), and drive to class, exhausted and wishing I were back in bed.
While I know it’s hard to give myself the expectation that I’ll wake up immediately loving mornings on Jan. 1, I’m delusionally convinced that a Hatch alarm clock will solve all of my problems. However, I’m a girlie on a budget, so I’m planning on settling for a dupe instead. Perhaps waking up to gradual sunrise and birds chirping will be more mentally soothing than the blaring sound of an alarm beeping next to my ear — will report back!
- Learn How To Budget (For The Love Of God)
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I can’t budget. Correction: I have never budgeted in my entire life.
I tend to just spend money carelessly, and somehow I manage to spend as much as I make at work. It’s gotten to the point where I get several emails from my bank telling me that my bank account balance dropped under $100 — yet I transfer money and spend more. Oops.
This new year, I’m planning on actually budgeting and setting limits on what I buy. No more unnecessary purchases, no more racking up $100 tabs at the bar, no more eating out when I have food at home. This year, I’m prioritizing saving my money (because Lord knows I’m going to need to learn how as a future teacher!).
- Stop Stalking My Ex
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‘Nuff said.