WiNK

by: Isabel Allo

"You don't need new ideas; you need more action," is a phrase I heard while planning my new year. At first I was unsure how to approach comprehending this idea but then realized it actually is quite simple. I feel as if I have an entirely new approach to this new year. With it being the year I am graduating and starting college I have a different mindset than I did before.

Last year I wrote similar articles about the new year but more about reflecting on 2020. I am happy to say my 2021 was immensely better than 2020 and I hope that is the same for you all as well. 2021 was not only the year of so many changes for me it was the year that really did shift my mindset. I've always had an extremely positive outlook on things and I hope I do forever, but still I am left with the thoughts of how and what if. This year allowed me to keep my positive attitude while dealing with real life lessons. A quick example would be my relationship with my sister. In 2020 we were basically attached at the hip even when she moved out. 2020 felt like a haze that still to this day can't be described. Then in 2021 my relationship with my sister started to feel rocky with us being away from each other for so long and life finally starting to "pick back up." I had to have real conversations with her as if I was 25 as well. She said to me, "I have to remember you're only 17 and we see the world differently." That conversation really hit me and forced me to look at perspective a lot more. After we talked things automatically became better. With that being said, my relationships with people is something that I truly want to work on strengthening in 2022 and in an authentic way.

As I continued to set goals, reflect, and plan I remembered that phrase I kept hearing. You don't need new ideas; you need more action. I transferred this idea to every aspect of my life that I was trying to plan and shifted the ideas around them. Continuing with the talk about my sister, we don't need to change who we are to keep our relationship strong, we just have to act authentically and the rest will follow. Another area this applies to is books. Of course I have a list of books I want to read this year, but I also now have a list of books I want to reread. This includes all of my favorite self-help books. This notion of revisiting instead of searching for something new is really refreshing. Whenever I forget something as I'm speaking my mom always reminds me it's there you just have to find it. There isn't something new to find; we have all the information, the ideas, the books, the concepts, etc. We just need to use it. This also comes up for me in an instance where learning something new is actually how to progress and that is with school. Of course there is an abundance of knowledge to still be learned but we can't wait to "find" it to act on what we already know.

Last year, for me, felt like a transitional period into something better. Even though 2021 was great despite obstacles along the way, I know I can make this year even better. Some journaling prompts I did for this new year compared to last are a little different and I wanted to share them with you as well. The biggest question I answered was, "How do I want to grow in 2022?" , "Who do I want to be?" and "How can I grow closer to becoming that person in 2022?" For us seniors, these are even more prominent because we are going to be out in the real world before we know it. I want to make sure I am as ready as I can possibly be by already being set in who I am (at least for right now). As I mentioned before, my entire outlook of setting goals and planning is different this year. I am trying to be the best me, not perfect. That is a lesson I really needed to learn last year and now want to adapt this year.

This is this year's version of Isabel's New Year's rant. I hope you can take something from this and if not that's okay too.