Intentions for 2019

Hi, y’all! Can you believe it? It’s 2019! I’ve decided that this year, I want to have an intention for the year as opposed to a long list of resolutions. In 2019 I want to live life the best as I can. With this intention comes the question: how the heck will I accomplish this?

1. I want to compliment people more often. So often I have something I want to tell someone, say, a stranger I see with the most killer scarf on. Sometimes I muster up the courage to say, “Oh my gosh! I love your scarf!”, but oftentimes I get too nervous and say nothing instead.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become much more outgoing, but inside of me is still the very shy girl who was too scared to order ice-cream at Dairy Queen and would make my younger brother do it for me. I also have a terrible habit of isolating myself, especially in the classroom. I see people making friends in classes, something that I’ve never been able to do. That shy girl is still inside of me, worried that they won’t like me. I’m 21 years old and I still feel like a little girl when it comes to socializing. I want to put myself out there! I want to be less scared. With this, I am going to try to compliment at least one person a day, and/or initiating conversation with someone in my class, even if it makes me terribly nervous
2. I want to get out of my apartment more often. Between work and class, I feel as though I’m never home. However, that is not the case. If I’m not at work or school, then I’m in my tiny apartment with the one lone window. And don’t get me wrong, I love my apartment. My friend Tenley recently helped me organize it, and it looks and feels SO much better. That being said, it is quite small and I do get quite a case of cabin fever sometimes. This can be alleviated by going for a walk or doing some yoga, but once I get in the cabin fever funk, it’s hard to snap out of it. But I work on that. These activities refresh me completely, but my brain gets convinced that they are impossible to accomplish, which is really not true. Get out of the house, Mattie! It’s so good for you!
3. Stop getting so much happiness from material possessions.  I mean, I get it, stuff is great. And I like stuff. But I’ve been thinking lately about how much happiness we put into receiving things. And how short-lived that happiness is. It’s really quite sad, and also quite detrimental to our mental-health. When Tenley and I purged my apartment of bag after bag of clothes and knick-knacks, I could feel myself getting lighter. And sure, there are a few things I still want to acquire for my wardrobe and my apartment, but I am trying my hardest not to buy things that are not practical, or things that I don’t absolutely love. If you’re thinking of purchasing something, you need to remember that you will never love something more than when you’re in the store. So often I would buy clothes that I sort of liked because they were cheap, and after that, all they would do is sit in my closet, unworn. I’m trying to get rid of things that I don’t absolutely love or use anymore. I am a big fan of knick knacks, but the fact of the matter is, they get dusty and forgotten about in my apartment. Some I love and will never get rid of, and some, after the initial sting, I was able to get rid of them and feel totally fine about it. If you can get rid of something that easily, perhaps it’s best to get rid of it.
4. Stay on top of grooming and self-care. I have the hardest time keeping up on all my self-care in the winter, it’s probably because all I want to do is cocoon in bed. Sometimes it makes mustering up the courage to shower a little difficult. But showering is, of course, very important. And once I do it, I feel so refreshed. Same goes for simple things like plucking my eyebrows or painting my fingernails. These are such little things that I can do to make myself feel more put together and as a result, i tend to feel a little bit better and more motivated.
5. Allow myself to enjoy resting time. I am a person who is generally pretty busy. And I have such a difficult time relaxing. If I’m watching TV, I’m thinking of the million things that I still need to get done, and what I should be doing instead. I don’t think that’s a healthy way to be though. I think that we all need to take time to do nothing and allow that nothing to recharge us. We may be getting things done if we’re constantly in motion, but we’re seriously negeclting ourselves and our own well-being which is way more important.

Hope you guys are having a wonderful 2019 so far! What sort of resolutions/intentions do y’all have the year?

XOXO,

Mattie Mae