The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UNH chapter.
After returning from the long yet very much-needed winter break, I have decided to participate in a trend that has gone viral since the start of 2024. Here is my 2024 list of ins and outs:
2024 Ins:
- Being Present: I no longer want to spend all of my time reminiscing or counting the days down until something happens in the future. I want to be present in the day I live each day and enjoy every part of it. The only constant that I have found in life in my 19 short years here is change. I want to learn to embrace the change and be happy with each moment I live in.
- Going to the Gym: Here comes the stereotypical New Year’s resolution which we all know that nobody follows through with. I am not going to stress about whether or not I will accomplish going every single day, but I will take it one day at a time. Celebrate the days that I can convince myself to make the walk to the gym, but also allow myself some patience on the days that I don’t have it in me to get there. If I make it three times a week, that is considered a success for me.
- Be Kind to Others and Myself: The golden rule that we all learn growing up is to treat others how we want to be treated. I have never found treating others well difficult, however, I have always struggled to allow myself room for mistakes. This year I want to be kind, not only to others but also to myself. If I wouldn’t say it to my 7-year-old version of myself, I shouldn’t say it to my 19-year-old version of myself, and neither should you.
- Writing: Writing has always been one of my strong suits. I have always been better at communicating through writing rather than speaking. Not only is it one of my strengths, but it is something that I genuinely enjoy. It feels good to be able to get your thoughts out of your head and onto a piece of paper. Maybe you will find a journal or a shabby first draft of something years from now and giggle at the old version of you.
2024 Outs:
- Pointing It Out: There is something that a friend of mine taught me years ago that I have lived by since. This lesson I learned is to not point out a flaw about someone unless they can fix it in under a minute. Someone’s lipstick smeared or they have something in their teeth? Sure, tell them. However, there is no need to point out flaws in someone if it is something they cannot fix quickly. There is no personal gain in making others feel poorly about themselves. If roles were reversed, you wouldn’t be too happy.
- Gossip: For a long time, I have witnessed talking poorly about other people whom I am friends or acquaintances with. This year moving forward I don’t want to sit there and listen and I definitely don’t want to engage. There is no reason that I or anybody else need to be talking about someone else and what they are doing with their time. That won’t do anything to change a circumstance, and why bother wasting your energy on putting other people down?
- Caring What Others Think: This year I want to become happy with myself. Caring about what people think about me and what I am doing has always been a major hurdle in my life, and hopefully this year I can clear that hurdle. I want people to know me as the person I truly am, and not a person I try to be to get them to like me. I shouldn’t have to change who I am for people to like me — none of us should. In 2024, we all should be our true and authentic selves, because that is the only person we can be.
- “Popularity”: Popularity is a concept that has always made me nervous. I would label people as popular, but as I mature, I am beginning to realize that popularity is a concept that we put onto people. Anybody can be popular if we label them as that. This is something I want to leave in the past, being intimidated by people because they are considered “cool” or “popular”.
- Sleeping Through Classes: We have all done it: sleep in and accidentally sleep through a class, appointment or work. This is a mistake I have made multiple times, which I will not be doing in 2024 and forward. I want to push myself and be successful, and the only way to do that is to be responsible and work through the tiredness. I am lucky to be waking up another day, so I refuse to waste most of my day sleeping and then regretting it later on.
I urge anybody reading this to make their own list of their ins and outs for 2024. We as humans are prone to make mistakes which is absolutely okay; mistakes are how we learn, however, we can mature and we can grow by leaving things behind and embracing new things.