This is the New Year

Happy New Year! Yet another New Year has rolled around and I will still be writing 2011 on my papers for the next couple of months. It seems so unreal! It feels like yesterday I was moving into my dorm and next thing you know…BAM! You’re about to start your next semester! I hope all of you had an amazing holiday season and found an extra spot in your stomach for more pie and more room in your heart to give of your time to those in need.

Before I get into the blog post this week, I wanted to share with you a song that just makes me want to drive with my windows down and dance around my room with an uncontrollable love for life. Check it out!

This is the New Year- Ian Axel

Each year, a majority of people make some sort of New Year’s resolution. For most, it means committing themselves to doing something in order to improve who they are and the life that they live. This song really makes me think about my life differently. The singer is saying that today is the day that you can make a change in your life in whatever way you want. So many people say they will change their diet or spend more time with their family or give more freely or love bigger but soon after find themselves falling into the same routine. In reality, every single day is a a new beginning. Don’t be afraid of who you are. Instead, embrace it and grow through new experiences and challenges. When you make a New Year’s Resolution, you aren’t doing it for anyone else. At the end of the day, you are only accountable to yourself. So accept the challenge, make yourself proud and set some resolutions!

My advice to everyone is to write out your goals and make them visible. Seeing them on paper on a daily basis is a constant reminder of the goal and standards you have set for yourself. I have also learned that making goals realistic and achievable is much better than diving head first into a sea of things that you can’t keep up with. That is the number one way that you will lose your momentum. For me, sweets are a weakness. I always find room for sugar on a daily basis and feel that a meal is almost incomplete without dessert. One of my resolutions is substituting fruit as a dessert instead of opting for the regular sugary snacks. Instead of completely cutting out dessert, I have simply replaced it with something that I know I’ll enjoy and that is better for my body. I’m tricking myself into thinking I’m getting dessert. INCEPTION.

I’m so extremely excited for this next year. 2011 was such an amazing year for me and I am hoping that 2012 will only top it. This past December, I volunteered over 50 hours with the Salvation Army in their Angel Tree program. For a whole

The Salvation Army Staff and I at the distribution warehouse

week, the Gainesville Salvation Army staff and I collected, organized, and distributed gifts to low income families in the community. It was such an eye opening experience for me and I was so glad to be a part of a program that was doing so much good in Gainesville.

I am so excited to see what 2012 brings me. There is so much to be done and only 365 days to do it. Time to get going!

Much love, Sami 🙂