I really didn’t want to write a “New Year’s Resolution” style post because I’m sure today while scrolling through Facebook you read your fair share of them. The issue is that I am in the mindset of “Make a Change.” This is my first post of 2017 and it should reflect where I’m at in my life. I spent Saturday cleaning out my entire closet of every piece of clothing that hadn’t been worn in the last year was donated. I ended up with four garbage bags of clothing and a paper grocery bag of books. As a fashion blogger I do have a bit of a clothing problem, but I’m fine with it. I think having a purge a few times a year is the healthiest way to go about donating clothes. Fashion is all about recycling styles, so keep statement pieces and ditch the 47 t-shirts you got in high school.
So I’ve decided to pose a small challenge to all my readers. Clean up your life. Wow, makes it sound like you all have a severe drug problem. Which I’m sure only like half of you have. Anyway, I mean it. I want you all to start out 2017 by cleaning. Get rid of clothing, old books, donate winter coats, clean your apartment, fish out the expired food from the fridge, and just clean up! My mother, partner, and I spent the entire morning and into the afternoon cleaning out our basement that has been filled with the boxes we placed there SEVEN YEARS AGO. It was long overdue and resulted in our entire van being filled to the brim with things to be donated. I feel revitalized. Like there were hundreds of items that someone else will find a use for and be so excited when they stumble upon it at St Vincent De Paul.
I never realized how sentimental I was. Flipping through the things I saved seven years ago assuming they would still be important. I honestly tossed out entire boxes of artwork that I had made, I threw out every trophy I got, and every stuffed animal besides a few I said goodbye to. I think what’s so funny about humans is we keep items to remember the past, but when you really think about it, only a few are worth keeping. I have a doll my grandma made for me before she died, and it looked like me, with short black hair and dark eyes, not only that but she made all her clothing. That, I will keep. But all those unnecessary things that I simply liked, they need to go. I don’t need a notebook from fifth grade spelling. Keep photographs and mementos, but don’t get super caught up in saving every part of your past. Let things go. Also maybe clear your internet search histories while you’re at it.
I’m trying to be less attached to items and focus more energy on life and being a person. I make a vow to spend more time reading books, start writing creatively, be healthier, be more loving, and try to be a better human being. I hate feeling attached to my cellphone and computer. I admit this blog sort of makes it so I’m constantly attached to my cellular device and my laptop, but it doesn’t feel pointless. I know that when my audience grows, we all can make a difference. We just have to gather together and do anything and everything we put our energy into.
2017 is the year Donald Trump will be elected the President of the United States, and you know what, I’m going to use this year to make a difference. Get involved in rallies and politics, because I will not be told by the country I was born in that I don’t matter. I matter, you matter, we all fucking matter. This is the year that we see the face of evil and we don’t let it win. Cleaning up our lives is the first step to cleaning up the world. We are the generation that has to step up and do good. Fucking every goddamn person who doesn’t care. If we care, that’s enough.
I want 2017 to be the time for good to triumph. Let’s all try to volunteer more, travel more, write letters more, fight racism and sexism more, and just be more. I feel like I’ve been an idle observer in the world, and I’m done with that nonsense. I want us to stop being toxic to each other and focus on the good. Goddamn, as I write this I feel so ridiculous and feel like I might fail, but I don’t care. Better to try and fail than never try at all.
So what should you take away from this, if you skipped all the way to the bottom that is. Clean up your life. Clean up things and focus on being present. Make a positive change and get rid of toxic people and ideas. Try something new or revisit a passion you’ve always had. Tell the people in your life that you love them and hug them more. Join a cause that is relevant. Enjoy random and small moments. Fuck pointless and stupid nonsense, let’s kick 2017’s ass.