New Year, Same Me

By: Mimi Feteiha

Over the past few weeks, my credit card has felt the excitement of returning back to school. With new clothes, new highlights, new jewelry, and even a new nail polish color (straying from my years of light pink), I was subconsciously following the “New Year, New Me” motto. But why?

I never thought about the ridiculousness of this phrase until returning from Winter Break my freshman year.  With the New Year just passing, students (including me) returned to school with an agenda to be a new, fit, and more involved version of themselves.  The following week, gyms were packed, students were dressed impeccably, and Campco was a little less filled. This movement lasted all but two weeks before the chaos of college chipped away at the short-term desires. That’s when I realized a flaw within myself, as well as my peers: we’re quick to point out the route of our unhappiness and even quicker to give up correcting it for the sake of college life.  

Look at me for example: last year I fixated on my appearance, convinced I had gained the dreadful “freshman fifteen”.  At the same time, I consumed my nightly bowl of Cheerios, weekly serving of green tea ice cream at Sushi Land, and weekendly Campco order of a Reuben and fries.  This never-ending cycle of regret stemmed from the acceptance that college life was in control of my habits. While the “New Year, New Me” attitude stems from a hopeful place, it can’t withstand the powerful pull of Villanova, with its large amount of school work, numerous possibilities for social outings, and plethora of unhealthy options; it’s as temporary and useless as my new nail polish color.

The busyness of a university can easily distract us from our search for complete happiness, but our drive to find self-peace should not be reduced to a mere few weeks by the chaos of college.

I dedicated my summer to finding a solution to this problem.  Through some serious reflection and correction, I discovered that in any case, finding happiness comes from perspective. I noticed that commanding complete control over myself and my actions had a noticeable effect on my attitude.  Knowing that I was the only person capable of administering personal change made me more optimistic in my pursuit of utter happiness. I then isolated what exactly I wanted for myself; instead of maintaining my previous “new me, better body” mentality, I aimed to be physically stronger: I worked towards lifting heavier weights, running faster, holding my plank for two minutes instead of one.  This change in thinking made my goals for happiness long term rather than short term.

Returning to college will once again bring challenges; however, I learned that it is easier for personal goals to be sidetracked by college life when you’re only thinking about one concrete outcome, rather than the fluid process of growth.  Instead of becoming frustrated at the lack of quick results, you’ll find joy in each step you make towards maintaining self-happiness.

Happiness is a lifestyle, and whatever makes you feel secure in your own skin—whether it’s fitness, relationships, or conquering mental health—is as detrimental to college life as your classes.  At Villanova, we should aim to maintain our source of internal happiness, no matter the challenges, so that one day we will all be uttering “New Year, Same Me.”