I opened up my small day planner the other day, and in large, hot pink block letters the command jumped off the page. It said, “Keep your New Year’s resolution.” It bore my initials and the date Dec. 31, 2014.
“Absolutely,” I said to myself. But what was it? I couldn’t even remember what my resolution was.
Ah the promises of the new year. A new year is like a christening. It’s a rebirth. A time to start fresh and as some may say, make it “THE year to remember.” But how was I going to do that if I couldn’t even remember what I wanted to accomplish? The cheerful command on the paper stared back as if it was mocking me and my struggle to remember what I intently promised myself.
Panic began to set in as I paced around my room and threw the planner among items on my desk. There it sat, among new and old textbooks, some with the clear wrapping around them, others still sitting unopened in the brown Amazon box. Was it to try harder in school? No, that couldn’t be it. I practically live in Payson.
I called my parents. No response. So I posed my question to our cheerful answering machine.
I texted my sister. I asked her what she thought my New Year’s resolution was. She responded with the statement that she was sick of being my chauffeur, and that I needed to drive myself around more. Well, that was a little mean. No, that couldn’t be it either.
So then I texted a friend from class. She responded with a herd of “LOL’s” and “HA HA HA’s” and some random emoticons, then said that I should rely less on my daily planner.
Frustrated, I texted a different friend. I was opening a package of Oreos when the reply came. It read: “Eat fewer sweets.” Whoops.
I scrolled down my Instagram and Facebook feeds before deciding to charge my phone as I crawled atop my pillow-covered bed. I fell asleep and was roused from a deep nap when the phone rang. I sent it to voicemail. It was my mother’s voice. “Go to the gym more often.”
I looked around my room, rifling through my closet to find my sneakers. No such luck. But I did find my beige Rainbow sandals that I misplaced in September, the last time I went to the beach. Maybe I told myself that I should go to the beach more often?
So many resolutions, so little time.
I’m not sure what my resolution was for 2015, but I’ve decided what it will be for 2016. Never ever remind myself that I should keep my resolution.
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Follow Veronica Johnson on Twitter: @veronajohn36
