By The SIL Blog Staff

Does that sound familiar? Well it should, that was the title of our very first post back on January 18th. Our last for 2016 is the obligatory resolutions post. In the circle, the circle of liiiiffffeee. We have some accountability check-ins to do,  we will give our past and future selves some advice we picked up along the way, and we cap it off with our resolutions for 2017. If 2016 has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is chill.

First accountability, the cornerstone of any self-improvement plan. Three of us had some resolutions we talked about in the first piece, and as we recently found out, the other three do not “do” resolutions.

“I stopped making resolutions in college. It’s a complete waste because I never keep them.” – Sneha

“I stopped making resolutions for the new year. I try to reflect on the previous and be better than I was in the new but, there’s nothing in particular. There’s no ‘New Year, New Me’ BS.” – Nancy

“I never really do them, because I forget or cannot take the pressure!” – Laura

 

What were your 2016 new years resolutions and did you achieve them?

Rashee:

I had 4 of them. (1) To be happy with myself – emotionally healthy, strong and independent; (2) To feel beautiful; (3) For my family & friends to be happy, healthy, wealthy and fortunate; (4) To feel creatively fulfilled, successful and recognized. Yes, I achieved two out of four. (1) To be happy with myself – emotionally healthy, strong and independent; (2) To feel beautiful.

Puja:

I overshot this. I had 5 goals: (1) Lose 20 lbs. (2) Read an entire book of poetry; (3) Take less selfies; (4) Learn to bake bread (sans bread-making machine); and (5) Be more mindful towards myself.

I actively worked on #5, you bore witness to that, but it is far from acheived. The rest were fails. Lose 20 lbs.? I gained 12. Then lost 8, then gained 12 again, then lost 15, then gained 20. I am assuming all of this – I do not own a scale. I did not read an entire book of poetry. Unless Beyonce’s Sorry is a poem, I did not even read a single poem. Learn to bake bread without a bread-maker? That implied I knew how to bake bread with one. I tried baking bread ONCE, it was not a success. I genuinely tried to take less selfies. I held out until late February. I am not sad about not meeting this goal, I realized I need selfies, they make me feel better, and I barely have anything else to cling to, so let me live. #SorryNOTSorry

Mey:

My resolution was to get out of credit card debt. Shamefully, I was not able to do it – and I don’t know if I ever will.

What is the best piece of advice you received in 2016?

Sneha: Forgive, forget and move on.

Nancy: I would like to call this advice but, I don’t think it really was. On my first date in San Diego, I was told that I need to be less guarded. I’ve heard this before but, this made me think about how I came across as guarded (blog entry to come regarding this date btw).

Laura: Ask for help.  It is not a sign of weakness.  It is a sign of humanity.

Rashee: My dad never told me what to do. He helped me come to the right decision. He urged me to follow my heart and take a big step if I needed to. Or to not take any steps at all if that is what I needed. He urged me to be bold and be strong and that is what I did.

Puja: I can’t remember much of anything past May,or before May actually. So as to specific advice I received, I can’t tell you. Just as well because I rarely listen. Advice I gave myself: ‘you ain’t special’ which is essentially [Mean] me telling myself ‘get over it.’

Mey: Don’t worry about whether you are good enough at being a mom.  Just by asking, you already are.

If you could go back and tell ‘2015 You’ one thing, what would it be?

Sneha: Keep it simple; don’t complicate things and don’t over-analyze….take everything at face value.  Live in the moment.  Eat, laugh, drink and be happy!

Nancy: Don’t waste time. Don’t form relationships that weren’t worth it from the beginning. Always stick with your gut feeling.

Laura: She will be okay. So will he.

Rashee: You are going to be okay. It may not happen on the timeline that you want, but you are a phoenix. You will rise stronger than you ever thought you could.

Puja: Russia is influencing the U.S. Elections and meddling in other nation-states, warn Barry and Secretary General Ban Ki Moon/António Guterres.

Mey: There is more to life than billing. You are more than your work.

What are your 2017 Resolutions?

• Sneha:
  •  (1) Express my honest feelings in the moment

• Nancy:
  •  (1) Contribute more to the blog

•  Laura:
  •  (1) Breathe

•  Rashee, carry over the two failed ones:
  • (3) (1) For my family & friends to be happy, healthy, wealthy and fortunate
  • (4) (2) To feel creatively fulfilled, successful and recognized.

I need to be able to be a better support for my family and friends who need it and keep up my writing habit.

•  Puja:
  • (1) Learn a new skill (could be judo, could be drawing; I have no clue)
  • (2) Get my entire back inked
  • (3) Complete at least 6 episodes for each podcast I work on (so 30 episodes)
  • (4) Write more fiction/stand-up

• Mey:
  •  (1) Make time for prayer / mediation;
  • (2) Do community service at least once a month; and
  • (3) Make time to nurture friendships.

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That’s a wrap for 2016.

WE WILL BE BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED HILARIOUS-INSIGHTFUL-SASSY-INTROSPECTIVE-VULNERABLE POSTS ON JANUARY 9TH, 2017! Until then, we will be dropping some surprise content on social media and the blog, so be sure you are following us.

Happy New Year (or at least have fun watching 2016 die).