Have you ever looked at your life, who  you are and where you’re headed, and not quite liked what you saw? I know I have, I think we’ve all been there, whether it was getting into college, finding a new job, or facing the uncertainty of the future. Sometime in the past, we have all been there before.

But this is a new year isn’t it? This is our chance.

This is your blank slate.

I’m a dreamer, I’m sure you all know that by now. But I am also a daughter, a student, a musician, a sister, a writer, and far more things than I can list here. I am not defined by any one thing, but I am driven by a dream— to reach all the goals I have ever had, one way or another. I have spent the past few years saying that I want to be a writer, that I want to write a book and make music. College was always a part of my future, just like I always knew I would do something with literature. Last year, I did self-publish a book of poems. It was a huge accomplishment for me, I know that.

Yet, somehow, I still know I can do so much more.

Being home for the past two and a half weeks has given me a chance to take a step back and really take a look at who I am, who I’ve been, and who I want to be. I am a student first, and a dreamer second; that is the smart way to live this life right? But what if, as of this moment, they are one in the same? As a student I am working towards my dreams and as a dreamer, I will study what I love until there seems to be nothing left to learn.

Then, I will study something else.

Because that is what I am making this year about, this is my resolution for myself and for everyone out there who believes in who they can be: If you want something, there is no time like the present, go chase it. If you want to paint, grab a canvas and get going! If you want to be a cook, pick up a cookbook one of these days and try it out! Though I am not saying that we can all reach everything we had ever wanted, I am saying that if we open ourselves up, we might realize that the little triumphs and the little steps towards those dreams may be all we needed to reach the satisfaction we are looking for.

It helps to realize that having everything is about the same as being okay with only having a few things that mean everything to us. When it comes to my dreams of writing and music, there is a long road ahead of me that I can change the path of any day I want. Because when it comes down to it, this is my life and I am in charge of my own happiness.

Aren’t we all?

Sometimes I think we forget that it is our own job to create a balance in our lives— it can’t be all work and no play nor can it be all play and no work. There must be an equal balance. Within that equality, it’s important to remember that our happiness and satisfaction is our own responsibility. Life’s too short to spend it wishing for some other path to go on or another direction.

Make your own path.

No matter what is going on, I would like to believe that there is always a way to be okay with where we are at in our lives, whether we have a hold of the things we want or we simply have love and good people around us to make it all right.  One way or another, we are all headed to some future that we cannot see and it is important to realize that we are often capable of more than we know.

Maybe you are on a journey  into something new, or maybe you are reaching the end of that last adventure, taking a look back to realize how far you have come from who you used to be. Whoever you may be and wherever you may be at this very moment, know that you are capable of reaching those aspirations you hope for and that happiness you are searching for. We all have the power to get there, it just takes a little insight to realize that we might be closer to it all than we know.

You can say that 2016 was for dreaming, for that first taste of what I want my future to be. But for each and every person reading this, make 2017 about making yourself the best version of who you can be and not stopping until you do. Because you deserve that much, I think we all do.

This is a new year, and it is your chance to paint this blank slate with the colors of your dreams, leave no white space untouched— because this is your chance, you’ve got 359 days left.

Make it count.

P.S. I will be adding a poetry section to my blog for both my writing and other literature that I find along my journey! Be on the lookout for it and welcome to the new year.