A Fresh Start

You know they say, the reason so many people look forward to a new year is that it allows us to start fresh. To change, to move on, to just do something different, anything, with our lives. Yet, research shows that even though, we have this desire as the new year rolls around, to change, to start new, we humans usually do not follow through.

Why is this? Is it because we are so engrained in routine? Is it because we fear what we will leave behind? Is it that we fear what's ahead wont be better? I can't answer for us as a whole, but, to answer as a 24-year-old whose just taken the leap into a world of change, it's all of the above.

Routine and consistency is taught to us from day one. Our mommies and/or daddy's introduce us to a sleep and eating routine, in which continues (with slight differences/add in's of more routines, of course) into our adulthood. And fear? Whether it's fear of what we leave behind or fear that whatever is ahead won't be better, it is the same. It paralyzes us into making no actions. When looking at, (and I am putting on my whole nerdy science based hat right now, so forgive me in advance) our brain and the fight or flight mechanism it encompasses, I've found myself questioning and comparing the research stats of new year resolutions/follow throughs and wondering why so much of the time we pick the flight response over the fight.

I know that in the past few years of my life, I've chosen the flight response, even though I was not fully content in the situation, just so that I did not have to deal with the change. I continued to be unhappy with my decision and where I was at in life and then finally (read: less than two months ago) I did it. 

I gave my job and my roommate my two week notice, I packed up my stuff and loaded it in a Uhual with the help of some great friends, and I moved. So many things are new. different. uncomfortable. wonderful. I'm learning the ropes of my new job (same field) while enjoying the privacy and comfort of my first ever apartment alone, while trying to navigate a new, big city. It's scary. It's uncomfortable. It's fascinating, and the best part is... it's a fresh start.