2013 - The Year I Made It

We're nearly half a month into 2013. And with each new year, we see it only fit to make resolutions by which we mean to better ourselves. We vow to lose that ten pounds we've been carrying around with us, to be more social, to drink less, to have more adventures, and experience fewer heartbreaks.

But after a handful of years, the distinction between each individual set of resolutions begins to blur. Entire years pass, with none of our goals having been met. 2012 was the year I silently vowed to finally make a film. To finally submit to the Sundance Film Festival. To finally make a name for myself. And yet, 2012 was yet another year where I failed to follow through.

2013 cannot be the same.

The title of this blog post is in the past tense for a reason. I'm sixteen years old, going on seventeen. I realize how young I am. This is still my youth. I have my whole life ahead of me. That much I understand. But this is also a crucial period in the developmental process which will eventually see me maturing into a young adult. This is the point in time where I need to start making plans. I need to figure out exactly what field I'm planning on venturing into (be it writing, directing, acting, or lensing other people's films), and I need a plan of action to make it happen.

So 2013 can't be the year I plan to make it, or the year I hope I'll make it. 2013 has to be the year I made it. I can't keep pushing it off because I'm too busy with school, or because I'd rather spend time with my friends, or because I value my leisure time more. If I'm going to make my dreams a reality, I'm going to have to want it. I'm going to have to work for it. And I'm going to need people to hold me to it.

Kanye West, as smug and stubborn a man as he may be, is at times a very sensible person (just not when he's drunk on twitter). In his sort of self-help book, Thank You and You're Welcome, he talks about the need to make our desires known. He writes:

"I get a lot of back lash for saying what I'm going to do. I love saying what I think because it keeps me accountable. Once I say it, I feel like I have to do it and I love proving to everyone that I can! It's like using public opinion as a motivational tool instead of its common role of degradation."

And he's right. We can make resolutions all we want, but if they're silent resolutions, stored away in the back of our minds, they're nothing more than promises waiting to be broken. We need to say them aloud, for all to hear. We need to hold ourselves accountable.

2013 will be the year I make my first film. It will be the year I write three screenplays. It will be the year I try my hand at making music. It will be the year I make a name for myself. It will be the year that I made it. And I hope that this time next year, I'll finally have a new set of resolutions to share with you.

Thanks for reading,

Palmer Stanfield