HELLO, LOVE!

Image taken by Collin Snyder

I don’t know if y’all heard, but it’s a new(ish) year. And after 20 months of Newhouse student burnout, seven drunken meltdowns and a crummy, devastating ex-boyfriend—I am happy to announce that I’m finally falling in love again. 

And in the feature film that is my 2026—the love interest is none other than myself. 

This year, I have one goal: to fall back in love with myself.  The concept, on paper, lends itself to corniness, vanity and a half-witted promise. After all, how often do we preach “you can’t love someone else until you love yourself!” and then spend our Federal Work Study paychecks on seatbelt-flavored Geek bars?

But let the record show I have a plan—a list of affirmations, stories and principles to guide my journey to self love. Since we’re talking about our emotions this issue, I thought I’d share three ways I’m learning to love myself this year.

1. I’m forgiving myself and others 

As you can tell from this issue, everyone is a hot mess right now. From militant, Orwellian government violence posed on us each day to doomscrolling through videos getting yelled at by AI groceries, many are just doing what they can to get by. 

That’s why this year, I’m giving grace. I’m messing up. And I’m not letting guilt consume me for just being a person navigating a turbulent time. Instead, I’m prioritizing accountability, learning from my mistakes and using said grace as a vehicle for self-improvement. 

And as I extend this personal luxury, I’m also extending it to others. I’m remembering that—with the exception of a few obvious supervillains—people mean well and deserve the same time and space to improve as I have set for myself. 

I’m not giving people too many chances, though. There’s a point where everyone needs to draw a hard line. 

2. I’m loving people first 

It’s as simple as that. Instead of taking my roommates off of my close friends story because they left one too many dirty dishes in the sink (again), I’m prioritizing communication and the sanctity of friendship.

I’m remembering that I didn’t become friends with someone because I just LOVED the way they got comfortable interrupting me every time we had a conversation two years into a college friendship. I started loving those around me because of hours of inside jokes, mutual media hyperfixations and other escapades. 

And while there’s no room in my life for other’s dirty habits and newfound insufferable traits, I’m learning to guide my friends to righteousness instead of learning to hate them. I’m learning to love. them. first. 

3. I’m doing something about it!

Gone are the days I let my laundry pile grow until I can’t get away with finding a non-deodorant-stained top. I’m saying goodbye to sleeping in tubing mascara and drugstore foundation that turn pimples into chemical burns. I’m finally letting go of eating microwaved bags of peas with parmesan cheese for dinner. 

As bell hooks famously wrote, “love is a verb.” It’s movement, a devotion. Anxiety, burnout and succumbing to sleeping on a mattress pad is ambition without action. 

This year, I’m learning to love doing love! I’m doing things for me that don’t involve spending $300 on DoorDash. I’m enthusiastically going to the grocery store. I’m making paper crafts. I’m rewatching Desperate Housewives and mending the holes in my socks. 

So, Jerks, I hope this year you, too, can say hello to love. Thanks for letting me shout from my soapbox once again.