(Photo courtesy of Tiya Birru)
Every new year offers a chance to improve yourself and your life. Being a teenager riddled with insecurities, I’ve always seen it as a time I could fix everything about myself for the year.
What I’ve noticed with New Year’s resolutions is that everyone makes them and tries to set a new routine, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. I have made resolutions like lose 30 pounds, have clear skin or grow taller — and when I didn’t see any improvements, I ended up incredibly disappointed in myself.
Around eighth grade I think I learned that New Year’s resolutions can’t just happen immediately, and I shouldn’t let my insecurities lead my mindset.
Instead of trying hard to “fix” things I didn’t like about myself, I worked more on self care: I tried to be nicer to myself; I would remind myself to drink more water; I tried to speak up and compliment people on the street.
I taught myself that working on myself from the inside would be more important than what I looked like on the outside.