Kick the New Year’s Resolution for Something Better
This is the seventh post in a series by former FLVS student Makaila, a model, author, and student advocate.
Ah…the New Year. It seems to be that every New Year, we set our expectations so high we surely cannot keep them.
Well, not this year!
Instead, set the bar high for yourself in 2017– but keep it attainable. Better yet, instead of having some New Year’s resolution that we both know won’t last, focus on something that matters – your dreams.
Ask yourself, what is it that you want to accomplish this year? Do you want to chase your dreams and be the best you can in school? Maybe your vision is elsewhere, America’s Next Top Model…or perhaps an X-Games stunt driver?
No matter what your dream is, focus your efforts on how to get there.
When I was younger, New Year’s became my “crunch time.”
It was the time in which I sat down and asked myself, “Makaila, what do you want to do this year?” Every year it was different. When I was younger, and actually still a student with FLVS, I wanted to be a criminal profiler, like the show on CBS called “Criminal Minds.” So I took a forensic class that year, and surprisingly enough I took Mandarin (Chinese). I won’t lie, it was beyond difficult to learn a new language online. And if we’re really going to be honest, I think I remember a few sentences and that is it. Yet, Forensics will forever be one of my favorite classes. After taking it, I realized this is something I could see myself doing. But life sometimes gets in the way.
It can be challenging to decide what it is you want to do for the rest of your life.
Clearly, my life went another way and I more than likely won’t work for the FBI and be a profiler; and that’s okay. I pursued my dreams at the moment, but the funny thing about dreams is that they are subject to change. Never in a million years would I have thought I would write a book, walk in New York Fashion Week, or be offered a lead in a movie.
Dreams often present themselves, and when they do, grab them!
So this New Year, ask yourself, “What can I do to push myself a little bit closer to figure out what my dream is?” Maybe you don’t know what it is right now, and that’s perfectly okay too.
I jumped from teacher, to FBI agent, to rock star (I’m not the best at singing and I know that now), to model, to author. In a few years, it may change. Who knows, maybe I will want to be president. Remember – whatever it is that you want to be, nothing is impossible. Believe me when I tell you that! However, you have to put in work. So instead of making some resolution you won’t keep, do yourself a favor and pursue your dreams – whatever they are. And if they change, well you can at least tell yourself you gave it everything you could.
Mak Nichols is a model, author, actress, and student advocate on a mission to inspire and support her peers through philanthropic initiatives including the Great American No Bull Challenge and the release of her first book, Blatantly Honest: Normal Teen, Abnormal Life, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indie Bound. After taking FLVS courses in high school, she is now studying business, entrepreneurship, and writing at the University of Central Florida. Learn more at makailanichols.com.