Each and every time New Years rolls around, I find myself  cultivating the same thoughts of things I’d like to improve for the year ahead. I think it’s safe to say I haven’t grown out of this habit as I’ve once again created a long list of self-improvements to tackle. We all do it – it’s SO human of us. The list starts off at the very obvious and minor of the bad habits, and then faintly dwindles down to the deep and dirty of the bunch featuring a couple things you’d like to deny are even apart of your lifestyle.

We (my group of friends, that is) began New Years morning huddled around a cluttered dining table as we shoved down a healthy dose of waffles and eggs – conversation covered everything from embarrassing hook ups from the night before, and of course the usual 2012 resolutions….not much of a surprise. It’s extremely humorous to see that our resolutions haven’t changed much over the course of 365 days. To me – resolutions are nothing more than a ‘reach for the stars’ type of deal, that winds up being just a set up for failure. But who am I to judge? I’ve broken every single resolution I’ve made. Let’s take a look at the top 5 resolutions I’ve heard continuously this past weekend.

1. The weight loss goal - Can we just all agree that this is a universal goal for EVERYONE these days? I mean, I get it. We all love food – I blame Anthony Bourdain!! To be honest, last year was my most carbiest year yet, and I plan on changing that.  But let’s be real – I’m going to probably shove a huge chocolate pie in my face tonight. I’m ok with that.

2. The ‘NO MORE DATING LOSERS’ goal - How about you just stop hanging out at the bar down the street hoping to meet prince Charming, and do something more productive with your time like working on bettering yourself? Sounds easy, right? It’s probably not – but I’m almost 98% sure that the same amount of time you spend obsessing over a boy could actually be used to work on finding out who YOU are. PLUS I’m sure cute boys hang out in other places outside of the bar/club. Here’s an easy tip: If he asks you to spend the night, you’re probably just heading towards a one night stand rather than a meaningful relationship.

3.The ‘Stop drinking so much’ goal – I’ve found something extremely worrisome about the majority of people I hung out with back in the day: they all ended up spending more time drinking themselves to sleep than focusing on being happy. You’re unhappy? Alright, well do something about it.Don’t just turn to the liquor to solve your problem. There’s more to life than finding the bottom of the bottle of a 40 oz.

4. The ‘Dress better’ goal – Stop jocking other girls styles. End of story. It’s great that you appreciate other peoples style but at the end of the day, you’re not them, and their style is just that: it’s THEIR style. Even if you try and emulate it, it still wont be right. The reason why you’re not inspired to get dressed is because you’re too worried about what others think, and whether you’re doing the look right or not.It’s time to Dig in deep within yourself and go after things you truly love. You’re obsessed with UGGS…Well that’s great, I think they’re absolutely disgusting, but HEY! That’s the great thing about you and me – we’re not the same person. You get those ugly boots girlfrand! Just be YOU!

5. The ‘Find inner peace‘ goal – This is something I am constantly working on. It’s one scary world out there right now, so inner peace is kind of a necessity when getting through your day. Now I’m not going to shove my beliefs down your throat, but I will say there really is more to life than worrying about money, your love life, and that new shiny car you’ll die without. Focus on the things around you that have no material value what-so-ever, and put your energy into THAT. Your family is worth much more than that one-of-a-kind Chanel handbag. I promise.

(p.s. I want this)

Big thangz poppin’, and little thangz stopping…let’s get it going, ladies! 2012 is going to be one gnarly year.