Drink More Water

This year, my New Year's resolution is to fill up and drink down my water bottle three times a day.

That's it.

That's the whole thing.

I do this every year--commit to a resolution that seems both wholly underwhelming and strangely specific at the same time. Last year, it was 'whenever I think something nice about someone else, say it to them--as long as it isn't something creepy.' The year before that, 'read every night for 15 minutes before bed.' Before that, 'if I hear or read a word that I don't know, I'll look it up or ask someone what it means.' And finally, my very first in this string of small goals, 'if I can and I should, then I will.'

That has become my internal mantra over the years. All it means is if I'm in a situation where I can help, and I should help, (because just because you can doesn't always mean you should), then I will help.

If I see a piece of trash on the ground on my walk to work, I stop and pick it up. In those moments, I can and should do something about it. There have been times when I've been running late and I choose to leave the piece of trash--I could technically help, but I really shouldn't be late for work. Plus, I can pick it up on my way home.

I teach it to my students as well. If someone drops their box of markers, and five other kids have gone to help pick them up--then yes, you could go too, but would adding another person to that swarm of kids really help?

Adopting this mantra has changed the way I interact with my family, my friends, and my neighborhood. It is not a resolution to do one good thing every day, because some days my body is too tired to do anything other than shower and have dinner. It is a resolution to do good when I can, and when I should.

It's been four years now, and that resolution hasn't fallen by the wayside. None of my resolutions have, and I feel that this most recent one won't either.

That's because they're small, they're attainable, and they allow for the inevitable lapses that will occur because of every day life. They aren't these big, flashy goals, but with them, I can continue to improve upon myself and my little piece of the world.

I've found that these goals usually build upon themselves, too. What started as a resolution to read for fifteen minutes before bed each night has turned me from someone who hadn't read for pleasure since elementary school into a person who stays up until 2 a.m. devouring books.

Giving compliments whenever they popped into my head felt awkward at first, but now it's just another part of my day, and sometimes it's the best part of my day. Some people don't really respond, which is just fine--they don't need to. Others just say a polite 'thank you'. But by and large, people tell stories about whatever it is they've been complimented about. "Oh! Thank you, it was my grandfather's before he passed away." "I just learned how to do acrylic nails on myself, and I'm so happy with how they turned out!" "Thanks, I got them on sale for $2!" "I actually just got it cut, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it." And then they smile.

Asking about words that I don't know has opened up so many opportunities to learn from people who know more than I do, and who have different perspectives than I do. Sometimes it's hard admitting that I don't know something. This gives me regular practice, and I get to learn a lot of cool words. Bucolic! Vermilion! Anagnorisis! (You can look up words too!)

This year's resolution, while it seems to be just about hydration, is actually about taking care of myself on a much deeper level.

I'm not very good at taking care of my own needs. I often forget to eat, I have only just recently realized that I probably should have some kind of skin care routine, I ignore things that I should fix if I'm the only one affected by them, and I definitely do not drink enough water.

So I picked the easiest one. Because even after a long day at work, even if I'm already in bed when I remember I've only had two bottles that day, it's just a brief walk to the sink to fill up my water bottle. Yeah, I might have to pee in the middle of the night, but I also should have remembered earlier.

And on the good days, the ones where I remember, unprompted, to drink up, I'm often reminded of other things as well. My stomach might rumble when the water hits it, reminding me that I should have had dinner an hour ago. I realize how dry my face is, and rub some cream into it.

I'm still working on so many things, but I'm choosing to focus on the things I know I can stick to.

I have no idea what this year has in store for me--or for any of us, really. But what I do know for sure is that this year, I'm going to make sure I drink more water.