I wasn’t going to make a list of New Years Resolutions until I saw these, written by Woody Guthrie for the year 1943. It made me realise that new years resolutions aren’t just promises we make, they’re also a time capsule. It shows what we felt was important to us in our lives at the time. What our dreams were. What the world was like. So I felt like I should write mine down.
But first I wondered, what resolutions would I make if I knew that 2021 was going to be a normal year?
What resolutions would I make if I acknowledged the “real” 2021?
So I first grabbed my notebook and wrote a list:
DREAM 2021 RESOLUTIONS
go to Paris
go to Brighton
wear more colours
notebook daily
blog daily
get research project grant
get project grant
create Wasted Time project
become a cafe-dweller
take more trips to my boyfriend’s hometown
and take my boyfriend to my hometown
make stranger friendships IRL & URL
play weirder, better gigs
get signed to an indie label
record more tape, write more diary
more plants & candles
write songs that make me feel good
make a power pop album
spend more time in Scotland
spend less time in places I don’t like
move towards the good feelings
After having written that list, I thought I’d then go ahead and write the “realistic” new years resolutions. But I’m realising that I can actually do a lot of this stuff. Apart from the ones which involve travel, I think all of this is possible.
So instead of some “real” 2021 resolutions, I think I’ll just add some gentle reminders:
GENTLE 2021 REMINDERS
accept where you are
remind yourself that we’re staying home to stay safe
embrace the seasons and slow moments
everyone is only a phone call away