Making new year resolutions is a well-known tradition to all of us. We make a list of things we wish to become better at, our goals to accomplish this year. Every year on December 31st people all over the world come together to celebrate the new year. We celebrate this new year by wishing and hoping for a new beginning. We are given the opportunity to make changes for the better, and it’s up to us to commit to those changes. So, every day for the next few weeks we see people who are often happier and motivated because of resolutions they have made to change their lives.
Now for this year, instead of coming up with a list of resolutions that I probably wouldn’t commit to, I chose a word. This word will become my ‘Word of The Year’ and I will stay true to it. Picking a word is supposed to symbolize the importance of what you want your 2024 to revolve around. Like resolutions, the word you choose may help motivate you, help define who you want to be in 2024, or simply a word you have resonated with in the past. For my Word of the Year, I choose “self-care”.
Self-care means the practice of individuals looking after their own health using the knowledge and information available to them. That is the dictionary-based definition, whereas self-care to me means much more than health. I am always told by friends and family how caring I am towards others- at least I try my best to be. Caring for another person is easy for most people; it is when I try to care for myself that it is challenging.
I am choosing the word self-care because I want to improve it within myself. I feel like last year I did not give it my all even when I thought I did. I had become drained by the end of 2023 – as did everyone else I am sure – but for me it felt different. I realized I stopped doing the things I love. Caring for myself means applying the things I enjoy doing in my daily routine. So, in 2024 I plan to care for myself, and to make me happy in hopes to be more motivated by the day.
Self-care will be the way I improve my happiness like reading to ease my thoughts of the real world, spending time baking, and with my doggies. However, I will say having a clean room constantly will give you a relaxation feeling like no other. Something my mom always tells me is, “Your room reflects the person you are and day you will have. Messy room means messy day. Clean room means a much happier day.” Like come on, don’t you love the feeling of coming home to a clean room you can just relax in? While I am pleased with this new fresh year, I need to start caring for myself better than ever before.
With this word I have explained the meaning the Word of the Year holds for me, and I am determined to stand by it throughout the rest of 2024. I now challenge you. Find a word, any word that will help you get through hardships or make you feel better about yourself, and that you will stick with for the rest of the year. You all have heard mine… now show the world yours.
About the Contributor
Arianna Brito, Staff Writer
Arianna is currently a junior at Fontana High School. She has been playing volleyball since her freshman year and right now currently on the varsity volleyball team. She is also an AP student who is involved in AVID and CSF.