Lifestyle

Why It's Okay To Use The New Year As A Clichéd Time To Start Over

by Amanda Marcus

"New year, new me."

We’ve all heard it before.

Every Instagram caption, tweet and Facebook status says the same thing as December 31 rolls around.

We tend to coin this term “clichéd” or “ridiculous.”

Although we’ve seen this phrase used thousands of times — and have ironically watched our friends and followers stay exactly the same throughout the entire year — for some people, a new year can be a good excuse to begin a new chapter in life.

In a sense, the new year is a new chapter for everyone.

We change calendars, begin writing new dates on our papers and commence a brand new journey along a 12-month path.

For some, though, the new year has a much deeper meaning than most.

It means starting over.

I myself was never a fan of the phrase, “New year, new me,” and it wasn't until recently that I realized how important the approaching new year was.

On the very second day of 2015, the man of my dreams had asked me to be his girlfriend in the middle of Grand Central Station in New York City, underneath the moonlight.

Right there, in that very moment, I decided, “2015 is going to be my year.”

It had only been 48 hours into the new year, and I was already on track for what I had believed would be the best days of my life.

I had the perfect boyfriend, attended the perfect college with him and had the most perfect friends and social life to match.

I didn’t hesitate to say 2015 was the best year of my life.

Seven months into the year was when I took back everything I had thought on that starry evening.

The fantasy I had built up for myself came to a harsh, dead end, and suddenly, the best year of my life turned into the worst.

The man of my dreams had broken up with me, and my beautiful love story of 2015 became the tragic heartbreak of 2015.

My social life was dwindling, and I was no longer excited to go back to the college of my dreams.

I had become pessimistic, and college had become a distant place where life would no longer be the same.

My semester back at school was exactly what I had expected: It was a rollercoaster ride full of tragedy, disappointment and confusion.

I tried my best to recreate the excitement of the year 2015, but true happiness just wouldn't strike.

The bitter end of the semester brought the true end of 2015.

After suffering the brutality of finals, my ex's graduation came next.

As I watched him walk across the stage and the snow fell around us, I saw it not as the end of a chapter in his life, but rather the beginning of a new chapter in mine.

I was now the clichéd girl I had grown up avoiding.

I was now using the new year as an excuse to establish a new me, and I was more than okay with it.

Tragedy and heartbreak had hit me hard, and I found that all the steps I was taking in order to overcome it were leading me down a path to nowhere.

I needed to truly and finally put my past behind me.

The best way to do so was through establishing the new year as a fresh start.

What makes the transition from December 31 to January 1 revolutionizing is the perspective you have on your life.

The year of 2016 will be the time I'll step into my 20s, and my youth is reason enough to live life more fully.

I'm beginning the peak of my social life, and I realize there is no better time to put myself out there and build more fulfilling relationships.

Jumping into a new year is not just about going through the 365 days; it is about living life every day from then on as a fresh start.

It's merely about treating every opportunity you encounter from now on as a chance to change your life for the better.

Using the new year as an excuse to start over is more than okay.

As clichéd as it might be, sometimes we need the new year in order to truly push ourselves to be the best we can be.

It's a time to sincerely embrace all of life’s opportunities.

As December comes to a close and we begin to creep up to the new year, don’t hesitate to use this time as a chance to start over, try something new or change your life.

When life begins to let us down, we must remember that every day is a chance to start over.

The best is yet to come, and the more we embrace newness and change, the better off we’ll be.