Many people are glad to have seen the end of 2016. It brought more celebrity deaths than I remember there ever being in one year. It brought a US election between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, with Trump coming out the winner. It brought terrorist attacks, refugee crises, and mass shootings.

But for me, it was quite an accomplished year. I ticked some things off my list that had been there for awhile. The most important achievements from this year were:

1. New job (and, hand in hand with that, quitting my old soul-sucking job)
2. Finally got my P’s (Provisional Driver’s License – after having my L’s for longer than I care to admit)
3. Finally finished the draft of ‘Wanted’

That last one was pretty tough. I was so close to finishing for weeks before the end of the New Year. Actually, on New Year’s Eve I was typing away on my laptop, trying desperately to finish the draft. I finished it (no joke!) at 11:50pm.

I had the entire week off work, and could have done it at any point, but clearly I found things like Skyrim and Once Upon a Time too important. The thing is, I am super stubborn. I knew how disappointed I would be in myself if I did not accomplish what was well within my ability to accomplish. So I typed away, getting in about 3,000 words in 40 minutes.

Things like that make me realise how I underestimate myself. How, if I put my mind to something, I can achieve it. I focus too much on my shortcomings that I fail to see all the things I am good at.

That is why, this year, I am trying to keep my resolution to one. I don’t want to list a bunch of things I may not be able to accomplish. Instead, I have one clear message for myself. To be true to myself, and to love myself. Maybe it is simple, but it is something I have been unable to achieve so far. I am always so wrapped up in worrying about what others have achieved and comparing myself to others, that I can’t move on.

I definitely have a lot of things I want to try. I want to eat healthier, exercise more, edit ‘Wanted’… but all these things can come under that one resolution. After all, what do any of these accomplishments mean if we don’t come out feeling happier?

I believe that writing, like anything else, is only worthwhile if it is fulfilling. Even in my darkest times, I have seen writing as a refuge. I want it to stay that way. I don’t want to turn it into something dark and fear-provoking. I don’t want to become burned out. But I want to continue to let inspiration flow through me, and I still see that light at the end of the tunnel that shows a finished product, a completed and edited novel.

I also want everyone out there not to let a failed resolution to be seen as a personal failure. Whatever could not be achieved in 2016, there is still 2017. Here’s to a better year, and to a happier outlook.