This year, I’ve decided to make some changes that I believe will truly set my year up
right, so I’m posting them for accountability. I want to follow the pheromones of desire to a big
heaping mound of prosperity. Please feel free to try these out for yourself!
In: Growing my network
Since I’m graduating this year, I know I need to make moves to keep in touch with my friends
since I won’t see them on campus anymore. Texting people and saying, “omg we should catch
up” hardly ever works, so I’m going to start bringing food to their doorsteps IRL.
Out: Maintaining current structures that do not serve me
In 2025, I want to rely less on my car and more on environmentally-friendly transit alternatives,
like buses, sidewalks, or city tunnels. They don’t have a bus route that goes to my bestie’s
house, though, so I am going to have to do some digging to find a solution.
In: Sleep hygiene
I love to lay in bed and scroll as much as the next person, but at a certain point you realize that
you’ve simply got to shut the world out to protect your own peace. This year, when it’s time to
rest for the night, I’m taking my spawn (adopted cat) to the lower level of my unit and cozying up
to provide myself a refreshed mind and body for the next day.
Out: The spotlight
I think attention is nice, but when there’s too much, you feel burned. I don’t want to be under the
magnifying glass like that in 2025. It’s important to know when people make you feel perceived
in a bad way. For that reason, I’m not going to walk past my neighbors’ house anymore,
because their shithead kid has too much time on his hands and genuinely lives to antagonize
me.
In: Stocking my pantry
If I am to provide for myself and my friends in the way that I want to (loneliness epidemic found
dead in a ditch), I need to make sure we’re actually eating and taking better care of ourselves.
The girls and I are going to try foraging this year because we need more activities in third
spaces that don’t cost any money.
Out: Eating poison
If I am going to live a full lifespan (1 year), I must be mindful of what I’m putting into my body. I
know there’s all these new foods that are full of chemicals that smell good and come in flashy
black plastic packaging, but I cannot bring that garbage back to my colony and get us all sick.
In: Security and Eco-Maximalism
I’m sick of pretending like I think my house should look like everyone else’s house. I don’t care
that my neighbors think my apartment front door looks ugly just because I’ve decorated it to my
liking with natural fibers and materials and don’t use a doormat anymore. Or a regular door, for
that matter. As a young woman living on her own in the city, constructing a giant cone out of dirt,
sand, and clay, and entering my unit through a hole in the top is one of the most effective
security measures I can take right now.
Out: Mindless consumption of new/virgin materials
In 2025, I’m reducing my impact where I can, and making meaning out of that. As I burrow
through the Ohio soil to visit my parents, I am going to repurpose the materials I’m moving
around into padding my aforementioned front door.
In: Friendship and Empowerment
Picture this: you’re at the club, and you see me and my squad marching past the bar in a
single-file line. We’re not taking any of your shit as we head straight for the snacks and start
crawling up the walls and onto random passerby. We are fierce, we are strong, and we are
minding our manners as we squeeze past you. Sorry, we don’t want to lose any of our friends.
They’re still filing in the door behind us. Oops, sorry. She’s a biter. Waitwaitwaitwait– don’t you
dare make fun of her mandibles! When you’ve got that tubular fucking head that’s like a foot
long? You’re insulting my angel with that tiny-ass mouth? Sure, bitch.
Out: Being stepped on
I refuse to be a doormat in this day and age. I am allowed to take up space, and I feel crushed
when people step on my toes for their own personal gain. And also my abdomen. I’m shoving
my Olive Garden breadcrumbs in my purse and running away.
Written by Olivia Dearth