Hello 2024!
Oh hi! Happy new year!! *cue confetti* We are about ten days in, how has your 2024 been so far!
So, I don’t think this is news but I check my horoscopes at the start of every year. And for the first time in a LONG time, both my Western and Tamil horoscopes do NOT predict a good 2024 for my signs! Which is downright hilarious to me because even during the pandemic, they gave SUCH “This will be YOUR year!!” sort of predictions. And now that we are coming out of the pandemic and I want life to pick up pace, get rid of some of the stale energy and book holidays I barely have the money for, the horoscopes are all “Look out for your health this year, we predict ailments and minor diseases” (BOTH horoscopes say this), “You will face difficulties in love and relationships this year.” (This is the Tamil horoscope and not to be dramatic but I feel like I’ve been facing difficulties in love and relationships since the day I was born) and “You will FINALLY be free of Pluto and the money block you’ve been experiencing since forever. You will start making MONEY here on out” (Western horoscope – which by the way, have you seen my fellow Sagittarius Taylor Swift and her billion-dollar tour?? What money block for Sagittarius since 2008??)
After chuckling at the year’s predictions, I usually journal by asking myself what I want from the year. So while I had no expectations during the pandemic, and asked for a safe year last year, this year, the most quietest but firmest voice said, “I want a year for me.” I was… surprised! I don’t even know where that came from! Here I was thinking I’ve been learning to embrace myself, establish boundaries and say no, but turns out, I still don’t feel like I put myself first. Which when I actively think about, makes me realise the times I could have asserted myself more, not kept mum because of how completely conflict averse I am, and just not be so… awkward some times. I also think I’m just a bit exhausted/ burnt out/ tired from life and such, which you can probably tell if you read my farewell 2023 post. And I think the inner voice asking for a year of me (like Shonda Rhimes’ year of yes), is simply asking me to prioritise my mental health for 2024. What that looks like for me is worrying less about who other people want me to be in their lives and focusing more on who I want to be in my life. It’s shocking, isn’t it? To turn 32 and still feel like you need a year for yourself, you owe yourself that much? The more fascinating thing, at least for me, is that I don’t feel… selfish about it considering the way I was raised. I feel like most of us, especially women, can understand the idea that the minute you’re thinking about just yourself and no one else can feel as though you’re not being responsible, or like you don’t care about anything else because being selfless is the quintessential mark of who you are. Yet, I feel as though I’m not asking for too much. What’s wrong with being selffull?? And the older we get, the faster a year feels anyway, so how much time am I truly taking for myself anyway? So this year I’m setting a theme for myself: the year for/of me. You know, embracing the whole main character energy drivel and all that ish. And if choosing to prioritise myself looks like having a vacation or two somewhere in there as well, then so be it. Alsoooo! If the Swifties are right, reputation (Taylor’s version), i.e., my literal favourite Taylor Swift album might be out in February - that’s my album of the year/ vibe for the year/ mood for the year sorted as to match the year for/ of me energy I’m looking to channel. As in, no matter what I do, there will be no further explanation, there will be just reputation. God, I love it already.
So while choosing a year for myself is a bit vague because it’s mostly just putting myself first rather than prioritising everyone else, I have some goals and such to support this (because it’s mostly just for my mental health afterall and less so about entering my villain era energy):
Read 36 books and watch 36 movies/ TV shows (3 books and 3 movies/ TV shows per month to be precise). This is a recurring goal at this point and I love having it because it’s achievable and it helps me pace myself over the course of the year to make sure I’m creatively fulfilled.
Increase the intensity of my workouts – I’m getting a little too complacent with my body and I can feel my body getting complacent in return so cheers to my cardiovascular health in 2024! Also, since physical health and mental health are inexplicably linked I’m hoping they help each other out.
Ensure a balanced diet – the “balance” in my diet has gone out the window in lieu of birthday and holiday season and guys, I’m well and truly in my thirties now. My body is struggling. Food that’s high in salt spikes a headache, greasy food makes me feel like a sloth, I eat something sweet one day and my body doesn’t want to so much as see something sweet for another week. So, I intend to pay a lot more attention to my diet in 2024 because again, physical health = mental health, right?
I was supposed to start doing annual health check-ups since the year I turned 30 but I’ve been putting it off purely because of fear. I don’t want to push myself too hard, but I hope I feel ready to do one this year. (Maybe the horoscopes are on to something??)
And last but not least: consistency in blog posts and newsletters! So, 1 to 2 posts per month and making sure a newsletter goes out every fortnight!
I think I still have some element of caution left in me from the pandemic so while I would have been WILDLY excited by all that I’ve listed here before, I'm now approaching it all with just a * bit * of wariness and tampered expectations. A sort of measured excitement if you will. I mean, the last thing you want is for all this to just vamoose. So, here’s to a fun 2024! I hope it brings you everything you wish for.
*Subscribe to my fortnightly newsletter, "Thendral's Telegraph" here!*
