New Years Resolutions
A textual tour of my vision board...
No preamble. Just getting into it. This is 2024.
Blog whenever it feels natural. I have strained my relationship with this platform by feeling like I have to adhere to an arbitrary structure, format, and schedule for posts. I started this because it was fun. I want to keep it fun and exciting most of the time. You guys will have to prepare for whatever it is that comes out because my only promise is that it will be varied as I continue to develop my voice and message on Substack. Okay, this might have been a hidden preamble. Whatever.
Know what stars and planets are where. That’s right, I’m getting into astronomy in 2024. I just want to know. I think it’s cool to know. Of course, visions of myself guiding friends and family out of the forest by following the stars dance in my head but just being able to point out a few rudimentary constellations/generally sort of place myself in the cosmos will probably be just as satisfying. Stay tuned for astronomy writings. Also, if anyone knows how to start this process, please speak up.
Embrace more challenging knitting projects. I have been knitting since I was eight and have kept myself pretty limited to the whole cast-on, knit, occasionally purl, cast-off approach. It’s time to expand my horizons. I’ve actually already kind of gotten started on this one… I’m currently knitting my boyfriend a scarf with *gasp* two different colors of yarn. The stripe renaissance is nigh.
Take valuable, meaningful time for self-care. I am eternally running myself ragged trying to keep up with all of my friends and various activities. I am making a concerted effort this year to scale back. I discovered over the summer that I do enjoy and value my alone time (occasionally) and I need to cultivate it enough that it feels like I get to have real fun doing activities by myself instead of just collapsing and desperately trying to regain energy. Thinking solo coffee dates, walking to the cemetery, and of course climbing and yoga nearly every day. This dovetails nicely into resolution number five which is…
Take time for my personal creative projects. I have a million ideas but execution of said ideas can feel like an exhausting prospect because I tend to keep myself incredibly busy with school, work, and friends. To write in a way that genuinely excites me, I need to prioritize my ideas. I tend to get very easily excited about executing other people’s ideas and being a cog with creative agency in the machine, whether it be film or theatre projects. I actually just turned down a project I was ~super~ interested in (hi, Jade, if you see this - your movie is going to be incredible). I just really want to give myself those sacred resources time and intention and see what I come up with.
Get rid of stuff. I am moving out of my current apartment in June and want to do a major stuff cleanse. At this point, quite frankly, I have no room for the many new clothing items I have aquired over this break alone. The good bit of that is that I didn’t really miss any of the clothes that I didn’t bring home/on my trip so I should have quite a bit to bring to Crossroads. Chicago friends - if you want any of my clothes I will likely be giving MANY away in the next few weeks so hit me up. I’m not going for minimalism or capsule wardrobe or anything like that but I want to stop saving every random scrap of everything that I have ever encountered.
Read voraciously for pleasure. This one is always a little harder during the school year and the 7-9 (can’t quite remember) books I just bought for my workshop intensive this quarter will probably keep me quite booked and busy, but I still want to take the time. Might write a little start-of-year TBR just to keep me on track. My first two books of 2024 will be (drumroll please) the remainder of Babel and Big Swiss (Helena, this is for you and also because I just saw a TikTok about it and I need to be in on the movement). Also, added to this resolution is reinvigorating my bookclub with Helena.
More meal prep. Make it exciting! More cooking for friends and making recipes for fun.
Putting less pressure on myself. I want to stop making myself anxious and overanalyzing my every thought. I need to continue to flex and grow the muscle that allows me to observe my emotions with passive curiosity and acceptance instead of attempting to rationalize the irrational and/or allow them to unnecesarily spin me into a tornado. More peace and surrender.
Intentional gatherings, more pausing and acknowledging the changing of the seasons. I often feel quite at the mercy of time. I am done with that. I want to journal and mark the passage of my life with joy and ritual.
Link to my 2024 vision board: https://www.pinterest.com/annafgerstenberger/2024/
Please share some of your resolutions with me! Heres to another year of I’m Just A Girl! Thank you all for being here. <3
2024 is looking bright for you babes!!! I’m agreeing with every single one of these for myself!
as always, this was lovely!! i feel you on sort of feeling the pressure to stick to a certain structure when writing--hence why i haven’t written for my own blog since the summer. but i really want to break out of that, too. i also want to read more, i made it so that i’m hardly in classes throughout the week so that i have more time to read! i think my main resolutions other than these would have to be to go to the cinema by myself more often (it’s where i’m the happiest, i’m noticing), go to more concerts by myself, say no more, get better at setting boundaries and advocating for my needs, write to my pen pals more frequently, continue to experiment with cooking and baking, buy myself flowers, paint more, start ballet again, set aside intentional time to spend with myself, things like such! have a magical year!! <3