New Year’s Day is funny. We treat it like a reset button. A day to omit the year past, a day to celebrate a new beginning, a day to forget all the shit we went through, and a day to “write a new chapter of our life.”

Once we sober up, on January 02^nd, we all go back to being ourselves. Not our “old” selves, just our usual selves. Because we don’t magically transform into a new person every New Year’s Day. All resolutions—losing weight, exercising, eating better, being more mindful, etc.—take a backseat when we see a delicious plate of idli-vada or someone cuts us off in traffic. 

As it so happens with many of us, I, too, tend not to stick to any of my resolutions. By the end of the first week of January, I am already back to being the couch potato, munching on packet after packet of chips, wafers, and cola.

This year, I am hoping it changes. I have been lugging around a lot of goals, some even from 2014. Some are silly and more of a skill I’ve wanted to master, while others are pretty drastic and include many lifestyle, mindset, and physical changes. 

I would consider it an achievement if I complete at least one of these goals. 

However, the one major and most important goal I wish to achieve is to start reading again. And not in the haphazard and uninterested way I’ve been doing it for the past few years, but in the way that 16/17-year-old me used to. By immersing myself into every page of the book, becoming a spectator as the worlds in those books unfold, and being absolutely blown away by the storytelling. 

I read 0, Z-E-R-O books to completion in 2023. I did start a couple, but I neither paid any attention to the characters and narrative nor was I interested in completing them. This was not because those books were boring but because I prioritized other non-important things above them. 

This year, I want to change that. I want to be someone who does not just dream of doing things but someone who actually does those things.

So, what is something you want to achieve this year?