My birthday has just passed this last week (hence the break in uploading), and yet again I’ve found myself setting romanticised goals, not just for the day but for the entire upcoming year.
I do this every year, imagining a picture-perfect day and how I’ll miraculously become a new-and-improved version of myself when the clock strikes midnight, like a sort-of reverse Cinderella.
This year I’m trying to challenge my mindset around my birthday, in the hopes that the personal improvements I keep imagining will eventually become a plausible reality.

While it’s always fun to daydream about upcoming fun things happening and make plans for them, it’s obviously unrealistic to expect perfection. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never felt disappointed on my birthday (I’m a spoilt only child with a very loving family) but I always find that at some point on the day there’s a lull between activities, I need a bit of quiet time, or something doesn’t go exactly to plan. That doesn’t mean the day itself isn’t absolutely lovely, but real life isn’t perfect and never has been.
I end up in tears at least once every year, either through something irking me, overwhelming me or making me emotional. This year was no different, but that doesn’t make it an unsuccessful celebration!

I’ve always expected that when I reach a new age it would suddenly be incredibly easy to break longstanding bad habits. One major example for me is thinking I’ll instantly stop biting my nails and I’ll have lovely long and beautifully paintable nails within a month. Spoiler alert – it’s been over a decade since I first thought this would happen, and it still hasn’t! (Shiny press-on nail sets are a significant vice of mine these days…)

I do find it easier to set ‘New Age Resolutions’ as opposed to New Year’s Resolutions though – a big part of this being less challenging is the weather being bright and sunny most of the time. Trying to eat healthily, break habits and exercise more never seems to go to plan when it’s January and there’s leftover Christmas snacks and it’s dreary outside.

This year, my New Age Resolutions are as follows:

1. Take better care of my skin.
   I’m not expecting myself to conjure up a 20-step skincare routine and stick to it, but this year I’d like to start being more mindful of my skin. Having now hit the age generally established to be safe to start using retinol, I’m going to approach curiously but cautiously. Having learned from others’ mistakes, I won’t be going straight in with a high-dose treatment and will only use it one or twice a week followed by a slathering of SPF, for fear of my face peeling like a reptile.
   This resolution isn’t exclusive to my face, as I have a very bad habit of mindlessly scratching at my skin to the point I leave marks and make my legs bleed. For my birthday this year, I asked for a Scratch Star – a certified medical device designed to be used to scratch itchy skin safely, mimicking the feeling of regular scratching but without causing injury. I’m hoping this will allow me to break the habit and let my skin recover from my clawing!
   
2. Scroll less, read more.
   Though I refuse to limit myself from a good TikTok session, Pinterest spree or YouTube binge – life is short and these things bring me joy – I will be implementing a designated block of time for reading instead of having a doomscroll, in the hope that it starts to feel like less of a commitment because I’m making myself do it and more of a chosen habit. I have an absolute MOUNTAIN of a TBR, though it doesn’t stop me from adding to it (see this post for more on that!) but this year I plan to take on a fair few from the bookshelves.
   
3. Improve my cardiac fitness.
   As I’m part of a walking group, I often get a decent amount of exercise. But if you make me run, I will protest profusely! My walking stamina is quite high without much effort needed, but my running stamina is non-existent – we’re talking about 50-100 metres, maximum, before I’m short of breath. I also notice my heart rate spikes quite a bit when tackling stairs or inclines, which at my age is probably something that needs attention. I don’t help myself – my diet isn’t great and I don’t do any other cardio, so I’m planning on correcting that this year. (Strava will either vouch for me or snitch on me, depending on how this year goes…)
   
4. Keep writing.
   Well, that’s what TWJ is for! I started the website to help with this, and so far I’m definitely feeling the pull back into writing more. Hopefully by my next birthday, my writing portfolio will be a size I can feel proud of, and that I can use as a benchmark for the year after.
   I really do hope that one day soon I’ll end up in a career path that means I can do this for a living, but until then I’m happy with doing it in hobby form.
   
5. Spend more time with friends.
   I am a really bad friend when it comes to maintaining regular contact. I’ve not long met up for a drink with one of my best friends, who I hadn’t seen in person in about 18 months. We stay in touch through social media quite often, but having realised I’d not seen her for such a long time made me realise I need to make more of an effort to physically see people. I’m a big hugger, and you can’t hug through a screen! I’m awful at actively remembering to socialise beyond sending TikToks to people, but spending time with friends is such an important part of life and spending quality time with my favourite people gives me a huge boost to my mental health.
   Can I get a regularly active social life on repeat prescription? …No? Bollocks.

From a girl hoping to finally get her shit together this year,

Wildflower x