New Year’s resolution: Get to know myself

It is 2019.

Another year has just gone by. Is my life going in the right direction?

There are so many voices out there. Telling me what I should do. Telling me who I am.

I barely know myself. How can they know me and my needs?

One thing I know, I am the one who is living my life.

It is 2019.

My new year’s resolution is to get to know myself, more than I have in the past.

Writing a journal

I journal everyday when I can. I started journaling in a young age, about grade 3. I wrote about birds and skies when I was little. Today, other than writing how my day is, I also create clusters to describe my abstract thoughts and feelings. What my goals and satisfactions are. What makes me happy, sad, or angry and explain why I feel that way. Clustering helps me to understand what my abstract pieces are and where they come from. I circle the words that speak the most to me. Then, I put them together in a concrete way. My journal is personal to me. It shapes me to be who I am.

Talking to myself in the mirror

Like talking to friends, it is different when you talk to them through a message, on the phone, and face-to-face. I feel more connection when I talk to them face-to-face. At first, I felt I was a crazy person to talk to myself in the mirror. It was awkward. I started by saying hi to myself. I told how I loved myself, how pretty I was, how special I was. I questioned myself about life and answered it myself. I surprised myself at how my responses to my own questions. Then, I told myself that everything was alright and would be just fine. Yes, it was awkward at first, but it’s worth it. Now, I make it as a routine at least once a week.

“Treat others as you wish to be treated”. It is important to know yourself – how you want to be treated, to know how to treat others.

At the end of the day, you are your own best friends. If you love your best friends, treat yourself like your besties. They deserve the best, so do you.