Here's To You, Janus — Maeve Elliott

Why do we make New Year’s resolutions?

Janus, the ancient Roman god, was imagined by the Romans as two-faced: one backward facing and one forward facing. As the guardian of beginnings and endings, Janus is the perfect muse for this mid-monthly prose.

With the dumpster fire of 2020 firmly in the rearview mirror, 2021 is the year of hopefulness even though the first few days of the year weren’t so hot but I digress! A vaccine beginning to be distributed across the world, a new administration ready to right the USS America, and a full year of mid-month musings to look forward to from yours truly.

I have made resolutions that I hope honor Janus and his two-facedness.

Abstain from drinking. Usually Friday night meant red wine and pizza. Looking back that glass or two left me sleeping late, feeling groggy, and not motivated to do anything on Saturday. Even during quarantine while not much is getting done, I want to ~feel~ as though I am getting stuff done.

Turn yeahs into yeses. If you know me, you know I love movies and something that constantly flashes through my head is Gracie Lou Freebush aka Sandra Bullock being schooled by Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen) on the proper affirmative. “It’s always ‘Yes'. Never ‘yeah.’” Channeling my inner HRH on this resolution.

Think more sustainability. Everyone began Marie Kondo-ing and The Home Edit-ing their apartments, condos, and homes when the world stopped last spring. I, too, fell in love with the euphoria of donating bags of clothing and color coding books. Now with that empty closet space, I need to resist the urge to buy stuff that I will throw out in 3 years. I am vowing to buy more second-hand items and to choose quality over quantity.

Connect with friends more frequently. The past year physically severed me from friends and family. I am determined more than ever to reach out to friends and family more regularly whether it be with check-in texts, FaceTimes, or socially-distanced gatherings. I will not let another year keep me from my friends and family.

Improve splits. This resolution may sound silly but I am super jazzed to work on my flexibility. Every day, I look forward to the series of stretches provided by a Google search, of course. Seeing a tangible outcome will motivate me to continue!

I am putting these resolutions in a public arena to keep myself accountable. In December, I can check back to pull a Janus to look backward then forward to the growth I still have to do.