Year of the Glow: The Beginning of the Beginning

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Hi there! I’m Daniella and I’m a senior studying Strategic Communications in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I love dogs, Mexican food, and am fluent in emoji. In light of the new year I have decided to ditch resolutions for a lifestyle change. See what all this “Glow” business is about below. ⬇️

The Breakdown that Started it All
The second law of thermodynamics states that the universe tends towards disorder – and I swear, by December 31, it was almost palpable how out of sorts I felt. Flashback to two-weeks prior, it’s Finals Week and I’m rundown, frustrated, and certifiably exhausted. As a senior in the home stretch of her college career, I can say I’ve had my fair share of tests and finals, but this test week was different. Two months later, I still can’t put into words what this internal mood shift was, but I felt it. The worst part was that I didn’t know how to get back to the Daniella I knew – I was strong, I was resilient, I never backed down. (I swear this takes a positive turn soon!)

The Wake-Up Call
When I arrived home, I was hopeful that I would be able to shake this heavy feeling that seemed to overcome me: my boyfriend was visiting me in a couple days, my birthday was less than a week away, and it was New Year’s in a week, how much more fun could I have asked for? I managed to keep this confused and sad version of myself from most people, but with my best friends, hiding doesn’t exist. (Positive turn is moments away, I promise!)
On a sunny, crisp, sixty-degree day in San Francisco, I met my best friends at one of our favorite coffee shops. As we debriefed each other on our semesters, it became apparent that we were all in desperate need of the reset button that January 1 provides. After one of my friends shared about her recent breakup, she introduced myself and our other friend to the Year of the Glow, not a resolution but a year-long theme and goal. For me, resolutions have always been more about restricting a certain behavior and doing a different behavior more – not super sustainable in my experience. “The Glow,”on the other hand, was going to allow me to approach 2018 with a more holistic sense of well-being (and one month in, I’m loving it!)

Hello, Glow
Instead of putting words into their mouths, I reached out to both of my friends for a quick description on how they would describe the Glow. One said, “The Year of the Glow not only means making choices that help me feel good physically, but also putting myself first and focusing on my emotional well-being; just being overall happier.” My other friend responded saying, “Surrounding yourself with people who encourage you to be your best self!” To me, I have found the Glow to be a culmination of these two things:

  1. I want to put my personal health, both mental and physical, first. No more saying ‘yes’ to things I’m not actually interested in just so that I can fill my resume (aka, ‘Hello’ to the words, “No, thank you.”)
  2. Find things that ground me and make me feel most myself. Like many seniors, I find myself thinking more and more about my life after graduation— jobs, friends, family, boyfriend— rather than staying present in my final semester of college. Not surprisingly, anxiety quickly follows this trip down the post-grad rabbit hole and find myself out of sorts once more. Well, I’m done with that.

What the Glow Looks Like for Me

So far, in practice this has looked like a few things:

The best part of the Year of the Glow is that it’s not a “one size fits all” kind of resolution, you can tailor it to what YOU need and want. Look forward to more Glow updates throughout this semester, including  what is working or not working, helpful apps, workouts, playlists, and more!
Have you bought into the Glow yet? Leave your questions and/or comments below. Follow Rec Sports on Facebook and Instagram to get updates on the Glow and more!