It’s 2013! One of the first things most people do to prepare for the New Year is create a list of resolutions to make this year even better than the last one.
While some people believe that it’s pretentious and useless, I believe otherwise. I think that even if you fail them by the second day, it’s essential to reflect on your past year and set yourself new goals and expectations. This year, instead of making a bunch of random resolutions, I will make 13 resolutions that focus on becoming a more beautiful person this year, inside and out! Hopefully you’ll find them useful too.
One: Commit. Commit to things you set to do, starting with these resolutions. Creating this list isn’t especially beneficial if you don’t at least try to follow them. In addition, commit to a skin routine. You don’t know if a product is effective immediately, and if you’ve got a routine that is working for you, stick with it!
Two: Love yourself. I know, it’s cliché but beauty starts from within, so learn to love yourself and all your “flaws and imperfections” that actually make you beautiful and unique.
Three: Love others.
Life would be so much happier if everyone was positive and loving, so be sure to love and cherish everyone around you, especially your friends and family.
Four: Forgive yourself.
Part of loving yourself means forgiving yourself. Instead of dwelling in past mistakes, learn from them and move on. There’s no sense in being upset over things you can’t change.
Five: Don’t pick at skin.
Speaking of loving and forgiving, don’t pick at your skin! Personally, this is a huge problem. I see a blemish and automatically pick at it, but it only gets worse and leads to potential permanent scarring. This year, I’m going to learn to love myself and not pick at my skin, and if I do, I’ll get over it and forgive myself.
Six: Smile more.
Your smile is your sexiest asset! Why not show it off more? In fact, I learned in a psychology class that facial expressions can trigger the feelings they reflect. This means just the act of smiling can actually help elevate your mood, so not only does it make you look more attractive, you’ll feel happier!
Seven: Floss. Speaking of smiles, make sure to brush and floss everyday. I know it’s such a hassle to floss, but flossing is actually more important than brushing. Just do it…which leads to my next resolution.
Eight: Don’t be so lazy. There are so many things I could accomplish if I weren’t so lazy. Whether it applies to studying, working out, socializing, anything! This is one of those general new years resolutions I make every single year. I know it’s super general, but I always feel like it’s necessary just because it’s such a good resolution. My next few resolutions will be specific ones I especially want to be less lazy about.
Nine: Moisturize and exfoliate.
Moisturizing and exfoliating are such a simple ways to get soft supple skin, yet I skip both steps so often because I get lazy. Since Davis air is already so dry, moisturizer is a must if you want to keep dry and flaky skin at bay. Exfoliating once a week removes dull dead skin cells, revealing bright, young skin.
Ten: Wear sunscreen.
Wearing sunscreen can help prevent sunburns, which not only hurt, but are unsightly. It also prevents problems later on in life such as aging, sunspots, and most importantly, skin cancer.
Eleven: Wash face and take off makeup before sleeping.
It’s terrible sleeping in your makeup. It clogs up your pores and eye make up can lead to infections.
Twelve: Me time.
Go take a walk, meditate, listen to music, take an extra long shower (although not too often and not too hot because that dries your skin), brew a cup of tea and snuggle with your teddy bear –– whatever works. Just take a break from everyone and everything to relax and unwind.
Thirteen: Find balance. Balancing schoolwork with sleep, social life, hobbies and everything else is always hard. No one can do everything, but focusing on some and ignoring others is not the solution. If you’re unhappy with being a hermit always studying, then go out more. If your grades are suffering, perhaps skip a hangout to study for that upcoming midterm. Honestly though, we all know we waste hours mindlessly on the internet or TV, time that would be much better used doing something more fun and productive, like bowling at the Memorial Union.
Eugenia Chung is a second-year communication major. She can be reached at ehchung@ucdavis.edu.
