Does anyone else make the mistake of writing last year down on paper when you have to write the date? Like the new year just hasn’t kicked in yet, and 2024 is hanging around like a toxic ex.
I mean, it is the month of love, isn’t it? Where is the new romance, the new vibes and new money that a new year promised us? Just like a guy on the first date, not showing up the way he portrayed himself to me. Not accomplishing any goals or making any new money? The new year showed up as a man with no hair, no home and no hope for a future. Drop him like a bad habit and keep on pushing.
A new year is like being fresh out of a relationship, after you’ve done all the crying you’re going to do and you’re ready to move on. In the beginning you’re affirming yourself. Things are going to be different this time around, you say. I know what I want, and I know the boundaries I must put in place and the discipline I must have to find what I’m looking for.
Unfortunately, after a few bad seeds out the bunch, you wonder if every relationship, I mean year, will be just like the last. You know you’ve changed so much since last year. You’ve grown from those mistakes you’ve made. What does it take to make this one stick?
How do I know if this is the year for me? If this is the year that I will flourish, I need to know if this year will treat me right and bring stability to my life. Who knows if we’re making the right decisions? We had no clue what we were doing before. We dove right in with faith and fun in mind, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into.
Now Valentine’s Day comes around with reminders of how your year has started out. Are you on the right path? Will you end the night with your ex you had on the block list? Are you with your narcissistic partner who you swore last year was really the last year? Or, are you with a new guy that gives you butterflies? Maybe you are loving yourself more after the run of self-sabotaging you did to end last year with a bang?
Ladies, we have to stop doing things for the plot and start focusing on the big idea. Let’s not fall off the wagon and go back on our resolutions. Don’t lose sight of the fact that a new man, I mean year, can make a big difference. Walk with more confidence because you are the moment. Hold on to the promises you’ve made yourself and make sure that new man, I mean new year, keep it’s promises to you, too.
Rasharra Smith is a recent graduate of the University of Dubuque.
