2021 is Yours.

New Year's Resolutions. Fitness, travel, that new hair curler wand, babies, no babies, vegan diets, Church - there's nothing wrong with them, but who told you to choose which resolution? We've been living in a time where we are pressured and guided to the point where we aren't aware of how to better ourselves outside the realms of social media, news media, and popular trends. In 2020 and recent years, we have allowed ourselves as individuals to be increasingly limited. 2021, especially after the dreadful 2020, is the year to take hold of what you believe makes you a better person - before the outer influences made you forget.

Take this how you will - politically, metaphorically, spiritually, physically, all the '-ally's you can muster - identify the garbage we are filling our brains with and acknowledging the rampant effects it has on us. So I guess we could say, 2021 is about our Mental Health. Over the recent years I have bought health supplements recommended by top celebrities, tried the latest diets, prayed a ton, debated lots of people on social media, organized my home, watched the news to be informed, and spoke to my cat religiously. These changes, however temporary, didn't feed my soul and my brain and therefore fell flat in making me feel whole as a person. If you enjoy talking with your cat, imagine volunteering at a shelter! If you want to be more critical of your political leaders, do your own investigating instead of relying on the same media day in and day out! You bought health supplements because your favorite celebrity uses it - but have you seen your doctor and educated yourself on exactly what your body needs? You want to pray when your life is tough, but do you study your Bible? People have been letting themselves be told certain information, guided into groups, and made to believe they're thoroughly impassioned by things we don't even understand. If you're kicking yourself for how accurate this is, join the club.

2021 is the year where the need to fit into society disappears. Remind yourself that you are different from the celebrities on Instagram, you are different from the millions you're made to think in line with when you watch one news source, you share your life with no one and therefore your spiritual path is different from any inspirational verse-meme you see on Facebook. If we want to insight change in our community and its politics, we have to get involved instead of watching the favorite news media host. Stop letting outer influences affect what you believe is best for you. We have all the material at our fingertips to study and educate what we have always been most impassioned by. I feel my soul would be more gratified if I put away all the garbage that overtakes my life and traded it for reading, calling or sending cards to loved ones, studying my interests and most of all - talking to people. These efforts will retrain our brains to not associate with the pressures that change how we see society and how we fit in it. My heart and soul are feeling the brunt of being influenced without my consent and I can only imagine others are feeling the same way.

2021 is not the year to be told how to feel, what to think, or where your passions are. I am going to choose to be the Laura before I ever had social media. I am going to read to be informed. I will remember to send cards and make phone calls to my loved ones. I am going to nourish my body, consult my own doctor and know I am not famous and don't have a personal dietician. I am going to volunteer and be a positive influence in my community. Our world is lost and growing hostile because of the ease of allowing outer influences run our lives, and therefore we are losing our humanity. This year I'm letting them go.