Writing New Year’s resolutions is a frustrating tradition to me because I don’t believe they work. The problem with them, for the most part, is the way they are worded. Instead of saying “I’ll lose weight and look beautiful this year,” we could say “When I feel like eating unhealthy food, I’ll remind myself of my goals.” That way, we can address more scenarios that might happen and how to deal with them.
Despite not being a believer in New Year’s Resolutions, I have overall goals for 2022. Most of them are about building a better and healthier foundation across all areas of my life. Why? For the past two years, I have been taking myself out of my worst depression ever—alone. I’ve been doing that by practicing self-love and changing my internal dialogue to a more positive one. However, it hasn’t been easy, so I have finally decided to go back to therapy as it truly helps me. My parents had sought psychological treatment for me when I was 13; the treatment lasted until I was 16. The only reason I stopped it was because I was going on my first study abroad in Morgan Hill, CA.
Therapy sessions help me in terms of mental health, better life perspective, and coping mechanisms. However, I have also committed myself to take care of my physical health. For that reason, I have been doing yoga almost every morning, taking full-body barre classes at my university’s gym twice a week, and eating healthier. No, I’m not dieting. Honestly, I don’t think diets generally work well for me because I’m not fond of restricting myself. But I do have to cut some things off my diet, like anything with dairy, including fried foods. Lately, I’ve been noticing that I would feel sick after eating Chick-fil-A or any other fried chicken, and it’s due to the use of dairy in the breading. Besides that, I have increased my intake of fruits and veggies—which I used to do in Brazil— by eating more at the cafeteria. Even with all of my efforts, I feel like I might have put on a bit of weight, but I’m not looking to be skinny, I just want to be healthier.
Another big goal of mine is to implement healthier boundaries in relationships that reflect my feelings, beliefs, and ideals. That also applies to the relationship I have with myself. For example, I want to stop criticizing myself. I’m a “0-100” person because I’m either super trusting of people or very suspicious of them. I’m picky about who surrounds me, but I still need to set clearer boundaries. Even though I’ve come a long way, I occasionally still catch myself saying “yes” when I clearly want to say “no.” From now on, if I don’t want to do something, I simply won’t. If I feel uncomfortable, I’ll compassionately speak my truth and actively listen to what the other party wants to say about it.
What pushed me to rebuild my foundations was the scary thought of being almost 25 years old. That means that I’m almost a quarter of the way through my life and should live it to the fullest. For that reason, I don’t want to stop going on my beloved adventures and sharing my crazy stories with my loved ones due to deteriorated mental and/or physical health. I want to be unapologetically myself in the healthiest way possible. And that’s exactly what I’m slowly working towards right now.