Happy New Year

2023 is here; indeed.

Happy New Year! 2023 is here.. whaaaaaat!!!? Where has this year gone? This is the thing I heard the most the last couple of weeks, and yes we always say that, but in all honesty this one has been a blurb for everyone. I think this might be because of all the recovering we had to do from the previous two years of this palaver we went through. Hence, we tried to do everything. In the same amount of time as our normal activities. And I don’t know why I didn’t realise that sooner, as my all-time mentoring advice I give is You can do anything you set your mind to, but you cannot do everything at the same time. So I was proud of myself when I decided to actually take the holidays off! That never really happens in academia but I did it. Thank you for the round of applause..

But now the year is done and dusted and I am so looking forward to 2023. I don’t know why I love it so much. It is something about new beginnings that makes me super excited. I think it is the clean slate notion. The fact that, on paper, there is no past, nothing can hold you back because it is the first step. The first day, week, month of the year. On paper. Because in reality you are the same person as 2 days ago, so there are things to hold you back. Usually yourself to be honest. 

So as per usual I asked my favourite ladies in Greek Women in STEM to share their thoughts, words and resolutions for the new year to serve as inspiration for all of us. Because they inspire me every day! Maria’s goal is to unravel her full potential, while Katerina to set work-life boundaries. Myrto wants to get her PhD (hell yes!) and Kiki to read more of our Greek Philosophers’ work while Niki intends to be more organized and make more time for reading. I believe that defining your intentions for the whole year in a word is incredibly powerful, but we tried to do it and so I am so happy to share ours. 

Tatiana ~ Balance 

Myrto ~ Breath 

Danai ~ Reinvention 

Stella ~ Daring 

Kiki ~ Mental Growth 

Katerina ~ Meditate 

Chrysovalantou ~ Resilience

I struggled with mine and I may have been overambitious, but I will share it with you. 

Kelly ~ Thrive.

And if new beginnings trigger you and feel like a lot of pressure, remember it is just another date in the calendar. You are the key to everything, always. And you better not let anything stop you. I will leave you with a quote that I read recently and I absolutely loved. What the new year brings to you depends on what you bring to the new year. So bring it on!