IN: 2024, OUT: 2023
When it comes to the new year, I’m not one for resolutions. Last year, I made the resolution to save a certain amount of money, but life’s unexpected expenses intervened; as the old Yiddish proverb goes, “We plan, God laughs.”
I’ve never found any solace in giving myself strict, quantifiable goals for the new year, but neither am I one of those people who sees January 1st as just another day. Whether it makes logical sense or not, our construction of time prevents me from seeing January 1st as anything other than a new beginning. While I won’t be giving myself goals to achieve by December 31st of this year, I am still interested in using 2024 as a launch pad toward growth, maturity, and change. And because I am nothing if not a trend follower, I opted out of resolutions and made an “ins” and “outs” list for the year instead. I understand that life will have its way with me regardless of my intentions, but as I enter my 27th calendar year, here are some things I will be personally embracing and leaving behind in 2024.
In: Mocktails
At the time of writing, I am about three months sober with the intention of maintaining sobriety throughout the year. While I do not miss the vicious hangovers I would get regardless of how much I drank, I do often miss the glamour of sipping cocktails with friends. For me, drinking was more about the shared ritual than it was about feeling tipsy or drunk, so making or buying a mocktail is worth the extra effort or money. 2024 is the year of making healthy habits enjoyable and fun.
Out: FOMO
Fuck FOMO! I am so over letting social media dictate how I spend my time. I am embracing my own internal motivators — the parts of my body that tell me I need to rest or socialize, that I need to read alone or go out dancing — instead of listening to the voice in my head that tells me anyone having fun in a different way from me, without me, is a cataclysmic emergency. The year 2024 is the year of letting comparison go.
In: Book clubs and dinner parties
I love going out to clubs and parties as much as the next gal, but this year I am reclaiming activities often associated with older age for young people. Dinner parties are not just for the thirtysomethings who don’t have the energy to go out anymore; they’re for the twentysomethings who want to commune over food! Meeting for a book club is not just for your grandma: hot girls read too! This year is the year of creating community over shared pleasure.
Out: Ignoring the dentist
I have not been to the dentist in about six years. I am terrified of teeth, especially my own, being prodded and scraped (a fear my best friend recently pointed out makes me ironically more likely to have my teeth fall out), so 2024 is the year of facing my fears.
In: Glamour
I will be overdressed, always. I will drink out of beautiful glassware. I will have flowers in my home, just because. This year is the year of intentionally making life over-the-top and beautiful.
Out: Extensive skin care routines
I am over drowning my face in 20 different serums that each promise to protect from the horrors of ... *gulp* aging. Any practice that requires me to stand in front of a mirror for 20 minutes, spend hundreds of dollars, and throw away heaps of plastic is no longer for me. I am washing my face, putting on sunscreen, and loving the skin I’m in. This year is the year of treating aging as a gift, not a fear.
In: Earnestness
We’re tearing down our walls, we’re saying what we mean, we’re choosing seriousness over sarcasm, we’re kicking cynicism to the curb. This year is the year of killing the part of you that cringes.
Out: Apathy
As I am recently 25 and the proud owner of a Fully Developed Brain, I have come to realize how desperate I have become to let go of the apathy of my adolescence and early adulthood. Sensitivity is in, callousness is out. This year is the year of feeding the part of you that cares.