I think most people can agree, 2016 was...interesting. For me, it was one of the worst years of my life, but hey, I survived. So it couldn't be that totally horrible right? And I learned some things along the way. But I wanted to talk about my New Years Resolution.
I said that I wanted to go on a date every month. Ha. Yeah I think I went on one date total. And that taught me some really great things. Mostly that boys are the worst. (: No, I learned a lot about myself and how wonderful it is to be on my own. I didn't have to worry about checking in with somebody and worry about using my hard earned money on an awkward date that would probably go no where. I could learn about my weaknesses and how Satan can use them to exploit me and how merciful the Savior truly is.
Another resolution that I had was to avoid social media for the entire year. Oh boy. The things I learned.
People are ADDICTED to their phones. I didn't believe how often I tried to have a conversation with someone and they were on their phone, scrolling through Instagram. Now, that's just society. But its a sad society we live in.
The first few weeks were rough for me. I felt that I was being left out of everything. "Did you hear so and so are dating? What about this video? Did you see the girl you knew from high school is pregnant?" etc. Neat. But as I began to focus on WHY I quit social media, I realized I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. Yeah, everyone and their dog got married last year, and I can't BELIEVE how many people had babies, but I did my own thing. I was happy. Mostly.
I thought that quitting social media would cure my depression. I thought when I stopped seeing everyone getting married and travelling I would stop feeling sorry for myself and my boring little life. But it didn't. And I realize it wasn't because I was feeling sorry for myself. It was because I was unhappy with my life. And because I stayed off social media, I began to focus on me and fix my life. I still have moments where the sadness comes in, but I know its me and not someone else's doing.
Social media also gives us a false sense of connection. I turned my social media and hesitantly stepped back in. My friends were excited because hello! Snapchat. So I ran into an interesting situation. I read into something that totally means nothing because everything up to this point was if you messaged me, you wanted to talk to me. Social media makes it so easy to keep ourselves completely distanced from reality. And that is why I hate it.
I learned that I missed that connection with my distant friends. I have quite a few friends outside of AZ and I miss knowing how their lives are going. I miss seeing their little kiddos growing up. Social media is a blessing when you try and stay connected with people. But as I said before, its a pseudo connection.
New Years Resolutions are great! Even if they don't turn out the way you think. Keep trying to be better. Keep loving those around you. Keep being you.
Happy New Year!
Kate
