If you’re like me, you are not all too fond of the traditional New Year’s Resolution. If so, you may have tried and inevitably failed or perhaps you were intuitive/pessimistic enough to know it would fail before even starting. It’s also possible that the notion of fixing yourself has rubbed you the wrong way. Then again, maybe you are not like me and you set the annual New Year’s Resolution and are resolute enough to succeed in your endeavors. To you, I say, congratulations. Keep doing what you are doing and may your future endeavors result in as equal or greater success. To those who can relate or are curious, please read on!

I’ll skip boring you with the dictionary definitions of resolution and its nearly synonymous use with goals. It’s all semantics. The point is in the implication of its use. Resolution implies there is a flaw to be fixed. If you Google anything on New Year’s Resolution, it will likely paint a portrait of your past failure and how you can work to improve yourself. Though we are all without a doubt quite flawed and could use a little improvement, we tend to inundate ourselves with these negative self-images. Maybe it’s time some of us look at those “resolutions” as goals instead. We don’t have to improve ourselves all of the time. Improve yourself at work or if you have a health condition that requires a lifestyle change. Otherwise, we should be allowed to be happy with who we are and simply do something for the enjoyment of it. Yes, pick up new hobbies or partake in new, energy-filled activities. But don’t do it because of what you lack, and instead, do it because you feel like it. I’m far more interested in taking up something if I actually want to do it. I will ALWAYS fail if it feels like a chore. I have enough chores to deal with. Why add more?

Luckily, the library has MANY ideas and activities for you to try out. For fun! Obviously, we have many, many books for new hobbies and other areas of interest. Check out the 600s for a variety of content on home improvement and building. The 700s are great for arts, crafts, and graphic novels. If you have had your fair share of books and want to try something new, stop in the Dabble Box during one of our open labs (Schedule may be found here). We have materials and equipment for a variety of activities including arts, crafts, and technology of all sorts. We recently obtained a complete set of digital drawing tablets that let you draw, paint, and sculpt on the computer. Along with that we have Corel Painter that imitates real-life painting and drawing and the recently updated Blender is an outstanding application for sculpting 3D models. If you just want to take a break, stop in at the Information and Reference desk on the second floor and borrow one of our board games for in-house checkout. There’s a little something for everyone here at the library.