New year's resolutions are the perfect way to kickstart a recovery, or make targets on how you will better yourself over the following year.
However, there are always going to be people who don't manage to start the year off in the most promising way, and I just want to say that that's okay.
Though resolutions are a great way to set targets, your recovery does not have to start on January 1st - everyone relapses, and that's okay, so if you break your resolution on the first, there's no one who will tell you that you can't try again until the next year's January 1st.
Bettering yourself does not have to be left until the first day of the next year - you don't need an excuse to do something that will ultimately make you into a better person.
So whether you're wanting to recover, reach a certain [healthy] weight, or simply change an unhealthy aspect of your personality - start now, and if you don't quite manage to keep it up on the first, start over on the second. It's okay to fail, so long as you try and try again.
My new year's resolutions in 2015 were to quit self-harm, be a generally nicer person, and try and do something to help people who were going through the same things I was. And truthfully? I failed all of these until half way through the year.
I started this campaign in November, two months after I finally quit self-harm (hopefully for good), and everything else has just sort of followed suit. So it's okay if you don't achieve your resolutions at first, because you've got a whole year and the rest of your life to work at it.
In 2016, I want to reach one year clean for the second time, I want to have produced a full-length story that I am genuinely proud of and maybe kickstart another project I've been thinking of, and I want to do what I have to in order to remain happy. I also need to work on my relationships and figure out what I can do to make sure I keep my relationship with my girlfriend and that with my family intact despite my parents being homophobic - I also want to try and come out to my parents, though I might save that for a few years down the line. One of my main goals, though, is to make sure this campaign reaches as many people who need it as possible: something like this would've helped me a lot when I was at my lowest point, and I want everyone who's in a similar position to what I was to know that people are here to support and love you, and that no matter how bad things may seem, they can always get better. So please, make sure to spread the word of #nomorescars and do your bit in helping those who need it.
So those are my new year's resolutions: what are yours?
~ Saffron x
Happy new year's, guys - I really do hope you have a good one xx
