The year of ‘you’

At the start of 2016, Kylie Jenner declared that “2016 would be the year of realisations.” It took me the whole of 2016 to realise that, and I’m here to declare that 2017 is the year of, well, ‘you’.

It has been thirteen days into the new year, and if you’ve already skipped one gym session and eaten some good cheesy pizza, that’s alright? Because you know what? So what if your tribute to a natural phenomena of the earth around the sun wasn’t wholehearted, you ate a pizza and it made you happy, you paid for gym membership so you made your trainer happy, and you bought pizza so you paid the chef, the delivery boy, the multinational company and all in all you contributed to the economy (maybe not just the Indian one). But hey, you’re alive, you’re thriving and the world will survive to see another day.

Preaching is easy. I can tell you to be happy, but I know happiness isn’t sold at Big Bazaar. But they do sell fruits (pssst! That’s what they eat during the first few months of the year). You really don’t need to put your happiness in a crate and ship it off to a mountain and then climb the mountain to get to it. You’ll find happiness when you go shopping for hiking gear for the mountain, you’ll find happiness in the snow, don’t compartmentalise your happiness. You’ll find ‘happiness’ or pizza (they’re synonymous, no?) on the way.

A great person once said the world allows for everything, the individual does not. This year, stop thinking about what the world has to say, start thinking about what you have to do. Except for board exams, then do what the teacher says because you’re at war with a malfunctioning system even God can’t save us from. But for everything else there’s (mastercard) you! If Trump can become President, you can ace that test, you go gurlll/boyyy/a variety of other genders. (Because gender is a social construct and being open to other ideas and the fluidity of genders is a good idea for 2017. Reading up more and being more politically correct makes for a great achievable resolution!)

Also, I have strong proof to believe that Rihanna’s hit single Work was an ode to the life of teenagers. College tuitions, sports class, more tuition, social life, some partying, more assignments. It feels like being thrown around from one end to the other in a shaking local bus. Be your own driver once in a while (only once in a while, because a bad CGPA and your mum will be the one throwing you around) and you know, throw your hands up and lay back down, and sip some pina coladas.

Let 2017, make you an artist. Let yourself paint, weave, sketch, write, sing, dance, create yourself. You are splashed paint and you are embroidered threads and as an artist, I’ll have you know that haste doesn’t make for great art. So be patient and be loving. Create yourself and let yourself grow. You’re a work in progress and a master piece.

Cheers to 2017- the year of understanding, relaxation, happiness, growth, sporadic gym visits, more pizza, good books, pina coladas and YOU!

(Priyanka Paul is an 18-year-old illustrator and poet who uses her art to express her opinion on various issues)