New Year, Old Me: What 2026 is Teaching Me About New Years Resolutions
2026 has been universally branded as the new 2016. Gen Z is desperate to reverse the clock, to skinny jeans, loom bands, vines and skits, rose gold glasses. We were cringe, but we were free. This shift had me thinking about introspection and self-evaluation. Whilst we can be blinded by nostalgia, I think it’s important to look back at how far we’ve come. Not only our losses and our wins. Gen Z decided that 2026 was the new 2016 because we saw how much we regressed in certain areas.
Online, people are scared to be authentic because authenticity doesn’t always appeal to the masses as much as curation. We’re scared to try because we don’t want to be made fun of, so we hide. We want to be something great, but we’re scared to experiment because we don’t want to deal with unnecessary or negative comments. I think what most appealed to people about 2016 was the effortlessness of it all.
And before I discuss this, I would like to preface that to conform to aesthetics and trends, there is a level of performance. There is a dress code, a look, an ideal body type or image or beauty standard that one needs to conform to successfully embody it. However, as time has progressed, these standards have become more and more unattainable and harmful to our self-esteem and self-perception.
Additionally, with the rise in popularity of social media, we are exposed to more people and faces than we should be, which can worsen our self-esteem. During 2016, social media was on the rise, and there were a variety of platforms to choose from; celebrities were posting random selfies and cat photos, and feeds felt natural and not hyper-curated. Everything felt more natural. Today, our generation has seen how much social media and progressive beauty standards have affected our society and decided to hit rewind. This has resonated with me for one specific reason, because it shows that changes with progressing time don’t always equate to improvements, time doesn’t promise progress and positivity. I think it's important to look back at previous years and conduct an internal evaluation. Ask yourself the following questions:
What themes have repeated themselves in my life, and what might they be trying to teach me?
Which past versions of myself am I proud of, and why?
Which versions of myself did I outgrow, gently or abruptly?
What dreams did I once have that no longer fit me?
What dreams have stayed consistent over the years?
These can be good journal prompts or things to think about, whatever you would prefer. Another thing that this rewind has taught me is that it’s never too late to pivot, to shift and change. Don’t hold yourself back this year; goals can be multifaceted. Personal, spiritual, financial and mental. If you know where you want to be by the end of this year, or even the end of the month, write it down, make it plain. It’s not always bad to look back; sometimes we need to look back at how far we’ve come, at how far we want to come, so we can move forward.