by Arielle Antonio, contributor
Whew. You made it. I made it. We made it through 2013, a year fraught with botched pop music comebacks and big top worthy political shenanigans. Onward into 2014, a year that has yet to make its true nature known to us. By now, you probably have your friendly post-it board covered with reminders for your New Year resolutions. You swear you’re not going to eat as much junk food this year. You’re not going to procrastinate in 2014—ever! Not even a little bit of procrastination! On the sacred King’s Cup full of God-knows-what alcoholic concoction you and your friends made New Year’s Eve, you swore to keep your New Year’s resolutions this time around.
I’ll share a little secret with you. I never keep mine. They’re always the same things and I always do the same things too—not keep them. The two I mentioned before are two of the ones I consistently continue to make and fail year after year. For the better half of 2013, my diet was mainly Hot Cheetos, Chipotle tacos, Rockstar energy drinks, and a party sized bag of Peanut M&Ms. Oh yeah, the college diet is a thing.
On the final project for a class, I had the hardest time designing anything. I put off parts of it for later, choosing to watch television in hopes of jogging the creative juices. Then “later” became the night before the big day. During a nap in which I literally had a dream that the Baltimore Ravens won a football game against the New England Patriots, a distinct shape flashed at the end of the scene before I awoke. That shape became the entire basis for my final design and I miraculously got a B in the course. When asked by the professor how I produced an entire corporate rebrand when I had nothing but a logo the week before? I answered him, “I had a dream.”
But these things, these horrible habits, cannot continue into the 2014 year. I have to eat healthier and I must do my work efficiently—seriously. You see over the break my family had the biggest scare. My mother had a mild heart attack right after Thanksgiving. The combination of intense stress, and a not-so-healthy diet, caught up to her in a major way. It could’ve been the end had she not gone to the doctor that night. It was a huge wake-up call not only for her, but for me as well.
As a graphic designer and student, I will always have to work under a certain amount of stress. Deadlines are stress. Midterms and finals are stress. Securing my own financial security is stress. These are unavoidable. I can only work towards preventing the detrimental effects of stress on my body and mind. Sure, I’m a skinny 24-year-old that couldn’t gain an ounce if I tried, but that doesn’t mean I’m healthy inside. Diamonds are formed by immense amounts of pressure, but I’m not carbon deep in the earth. The pressure of pulling off last-minute work does crap for my mental health. I can’t channel Martin Luther King, Jr. on every project.
My mother is fine now, but I don’t believe she can just return to business as usual. None of us can. One can only bounce back so many times. Therefore, I’m not tempting fate in 2014. No Chester Cheetah, I do not want your fiery sticks filled with 25 percent of the recommended daily sodium intake! Olivia Pope, you will handle it when I catch up with you on Hulu! Don’t look at me like that, Chipotle. Insert a clever meme of Grumpy Cat saying “No!” while running away here. I’ve got brands to design, photos to take, and organic carrots from the Marietta Farmer’s Market to snack on—and maybe some dried apricots too.
