Well, dear readers, the end is near. The end of the semester, that is. To those of you who are graduating, congratulations! I hope from the bottom of my heart that life treats you well and that you accomplish everything you hope to. To those of you who are not graduating, good luck on finals, and I’ll see you right back here on this page next year! For my last column of the year, I’d like to not focus on endings but, rather, beginnings.
I’m a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. However, I’ve come to realize these are often ineffective. They sound great in theory, and it is often much easier to stick to one life improvement than to attempt a massive overhaul. This year seems different to me. I don’t know if I’m alone in thinking this, but I feel the world could use a fresh start. I know we can’t just wipe the slate clean and start over from scratch just as the clock hits midnight Jan. 1. We can’t just fix the planet and end all conflict as easily as we can turn the page on the calendar, but there are some things we do have control over.
We can control our contribution to our earth. It’s not going to be quick. It’s not going to be easy. But it is possible. We can’t control everyone in the world, but we can control ourselves. Remember that not all resources are infinite. Remember that millions of people don’t have access to clean water. Try not to be wasteful. You don’t have to uproot your entire life (unless you think you need to), but keep this issue in mind. It takes a lot of water to produce a pound of beef. You don’t have to become a vegetarian if you don’t want to, but try to have one meatless meal per week. One time when you’d usually have meat with a meal, don’t. It may seem inconsequential, but you are making a difference.
We can control how we treat each other. We aren’t all going to get along. We’re humans. Humans argue and disagree. This doesn’t give us the right to spread hatred. Allow others to have their opinions, but stand up for yours, too. Respecting the human race does not just include being kind to others. Be kind to yourself. You deserve respect just as much as everyone else. If you are being overlooked or mistreated, don’t bear it in silence. Treat others how you wish to be treated. This is something we’re taught at such a young age but seem to forget all too easily. Spread the love. You may not always get it back, but it’s better to be the one promoting love than the one refusing to accept it.
We can control how we react. Sometimes in life, we don’t get what we want or deserve. We get passed over for a position, we get squashed when we try to make a difference or we are ignored when we have a good idea. While we can’t control what happens to us, we can control where we go from here. We can control what we do to fix problems and to get the most out of failure. I will not promise that you will not fail in 2017, but I will promise that each failure will come with an opportunity to improve going forward.
Happy holidays, and a happy new year to you, dear readers. I wish you nothing but the best for 2017, and as always, Go Gators.
Taylor Cavaliere is a UF psychology and journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Mondays.
