At the end of the year, I asked readers to anonymously share their fantastically failed new year's resolutions. I did this partly because, as someone with a dismal track record in the resolution-keeping department (if my resolve to do or not do anything lasts through the first weekend of January, it's a near miracle), I wanted to see just how alone I was.
But I also did it because I believe there's something we can all gain from shouting our shortcomings all at once from the rooftops: power over them. So think of the 13 laughable lapses in self-betterment chronicled here less as confessions and more as a way of enthusiastically embracing that which makes us all human. Perhaps in sharing their epic blunders, botches and backfires in this very public but still very safe space, the readers who answered the call are ultimately helping us all start the new year with a clean slate and a spring in our collective step.
-- "My very first new year's resolution was to become a better hugger. A good hug is a wonderful thing, and I'd always felt awkward about them. The year was 2020, and I think we all know how that resolution went."
