The ball dropped at midnight on New Year’s Eve in New York City. (AP)

A new year comes with new goals for the community, for ourselves, and for the future. The beginning of a year gives people a chance to start over and change their lives.

We wipe the slate clean, dust ourselves off and dive into what we hope will be a fresh start. As I go into a new year I have goals that seem to simply seem to resurface.

Year after year I find myself striving for the same things I did the year before with a few new things throw in for diversity. It’s a little discouraging to think that my goals are not being achieved. Am I in a stalemate? Am I kidding myself to think that I will ever achieve these things?

Well as I move into this New Year I’ve stripped myself of all my old goals and made only one: to be positive. I spend so much time dwelling on the negative side of things and worrying about them that I let the bright side be blocked out by a heavy veil of ‘what ifs’ and ‘not enoughs.’ All that’s come from that is a possibly unhealthy amount of self-doubt. No more.

This year I will try to look at the past and the future with pride in what I’ve accomplished and hope for what I can achieve. If I look back positively I will see that the goals I’ve made in the past have pushed me forward. I may not have reached my goal weight but every year I have lost weight.

I may not be the best in my field but I am getting better, slowly but surely. Taking a look around I realize that I may not be exactly where I want to be but if I keep moving forward I will get there. This year I want to challenge you to think like me (well the New Year me) and be positive about the changes you are making in the New Year.

If you find a couple months in that you have slacked in pursuing your ambitions don’t be afraid to start again. Everyday can be a new start and another chance to make yourself into the you that you want to be. Don’t allow yourself to be bogged down by the idea that you need a new year to reinvent yourself. All you need is the desire to change and a positive attitude.

Antoinette is a junior majoring in theatre.