To me, New Year’s resolutions are like giving something up for Lent. Why not give it up for more than a few weeks? Obviously, if you can survive without something you consider a vice for that long, you can survive without it indefinitely. Instead of declaring and failing at the same tired resolutions every year, why not just incorporate it into your every day life?
I’ve seen people I work with in the drag world have 2 resolutions: one for their in-drag selves, one for their out-of-drag selves… Shouldn’t they be the same? Yes, my drag life and my home life are separate, and I like to keep it that way, but essentially we are the same person. What goes for me out of drag, applies to Freddy as well. I don’t need to make separate resolutions for both of us. (Ever notice how, when you talk about yourself in and out of drag, you kind of end up sounding a wee bit crazy? Or someone with MPD…. Awkward…)
Anyhoo, this year there will be no resolutions from me. My life is already changing for the better in almost all aspects, so I plan on just continuing on that road. Would I like to lose weight, be more fit, eat more healthy? Yes. But I’m not going to count it as a failed resolution if I don’t look hot in a string bikini by my birthday. My partner and I already discussed what we’d like for ourselves, and we decided to start it in January. Not because it’s a new year and we needed resolutions, but because it was practical. I didn’t want to have to worry about dieting through the holidays. I’m a food whore, I wanted to enjoy my food before my portions took a nosedive.
I will not say something like, “Next year I’m going to be a better person” because, again, it’s all relative. There are those right now who would say I’m a fantastic person. There are also those who would say I’m the scum of the earth. The latter group can kiss my ass, because they’re the ones who really have no idea who I am. But their opinion of me won’t change, no matter what I do and frankly, they’re not people whose opinions I particularly care about anyway. Are there things I’d like to change about myself? Of course! But it’s an on-going project. It will be an on-going project for the rest of my life because, hey, nobody’s perfect. So while everyone will be changing their status in a few days to whatever type of resolution they’ll be attempting to not fail this year, mine will simply express gratitude for everything that has happened this year because, good or bad, it has made me a stronger person, and a hope that 2011 will be filled with more smiles than tears… for everyone. If I manage to achieve my goals along the way, great! But if I fall short, I’ll just chalk it up to human nature and keep trying.
So my resolution will be…. NOT to have a resolution and to keep on truckin’ down the path I’m on, which will (hopefully) lead me to bigger and better things all around.