Nadira Martin– February 24, 2026
Ah, a new year has arrived. Time to refresh, renew and reinvent–right? We all know the popular adage “New Year, New Me.” Though, I often think there are important questions formed from a simple statement. First of all, who is “me?” Rather, who am I currently compared to who I was–at some point in the recent past–and does this mean I have to start from scratch? How new is “NEW?”
In a world where everything is updated constantly, I find that we, as humans collectively, have adopted this model into every facet of existence, as if our cells cannot multiply and divide fast enough. There is a word for that…optimization. Then, inevitably, our cells multiply and divide so rapidly (hello, growing up, getting older…aging), we just HAVE to slow them down. The process repeats and we all become living, breathing iPhones– hUman: version 126.1.0, now scratch resistant AND waterproof! Cue the ‘oohs and ahhs.’
But that is the rub, isn’t it? Brand new, shiny outside…same glitchy operating system inside.
Which is precisely why this year’s focus is on returning to me.
Bringing alignment. Bettering humanity.
Not only a deep dive into the inner workings of my own being, but an active Marie Kondo style taking of inventory: “Does this bring me joy?” In place of clothes, I am examining frameworks, attitudes, actions and reactions to the outer world. Have I built perceptions of myself based on external input that do not align with who I am at the core–who I really am? In society, we are given rules, boundaries, and even aspirations around who we should be, what we should want from life, how we should view other people. How many times are we prompted to look inward for those answers as opposed to seeking them in the outside world? The road to Eldorado, the Fountain of Youth, the house with a white picket fence? And how often are we asked if those guidelines bolster humanity within us, between one another? The answer is: seldomly.
It is not comfortable to scrutinize oneself, at times it is downright painful to face parts of ourselves or our experiences that we have locked and hidden away. Containment, isolation. I feel we have become our own jailers. The beauty is that we also possess the keys and power to our own freedom. For instance, there have been times where I have felt on the verge of tears when thinking of facing my day, going to work, school, and having to interact. Usually, I would stuff those feelings away and go about it as best I could. Now, I stop and think about what, if any, of those things are out of alignment for me. Is the work I am doing fulfilling besides money–am I nourished emotionally, mentally and physically being there? Are my studies in pursuit of a greater path forward or arbitrary undertakings in the name of education? I think of myself before rigid structures were put in place, before being eschewed into what everyone calls the ‘real world.’
Dream. Create. Be Curious. Be Human.
The possibilities were endless as long as the important things were taken care of. Food, shelter, water and community. Imagine that! A nourished, hydrated individual with support being able to dream–to create and to have curiosity. I always wondered how things worked–anything. A watch, television, the human body, in fact, I am just as curious now if not more so. But as time went on, I began to sacrifice those foundations. You know, what we are all instructed to do. Go to work, make money and get ahead! I did not take into account the waning time I had with my friends or loved ones. I threw sustenance out and replaced it with a hard days’ work or a battle for academic proficiency. I crumbled. I was tired, I could not recognize myself. I tried all the remedies: exercise, therapy, “relaxing” in whatever form it came in, i.e.–watching tv, reading or staring into nothingness.
These are all good things, they helped…marginally. They are great tools. What I was lacking was paying attention to what I needed in order to use the tools I mistook for cures. Exercise can’t tone my body if I haven’t had enough rest or food to fuel the process. Relaxing won’t address what’s truly shaking up my nervous system if I am in constant survival mode. And therapy? How can it be useful when I can’t be honest with myself–to say “Hey! I don’t like how I am feeling,” or a situation I am in–instead of chalking things up to ‘just being the way things are.’ Internal problems are rarely ever solved with external solutions, though there is probably an app for that.
There are so many factors in the current climate used to separate not only the individual from the group, but also the individual from themselves. We become more machine-like: cold, calculating, unerring in the lenses we once called eyes. I don’t want that. I want to understand others, share ideas across cultures, feel emotions good and bad, LEARN! The more I stabilize my own humanity–the more I consider me– allows potential to be turned into action. I can hold someone up who cannot stand, I can fight for another who has no voice, and I can help heal the tattered edges where our humanity thins. Because I have been those people, I connect with those feelings, and I have stood by and nurtured the parts of myself that needed me the most. Even the parts I have had to let go of, the parts society gave me that were never mine to begin with. Perhaps it will catch on, the new rage–being human! And just maybe, like the thawing of last winter’s frost, we can shed our multiple versions and become whole. One whole person, one whole community, a whole humanity. Besides, we were always scratch-resistant, and waterproof skin is an amazing thing.
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