Do y’all make New Years resolutions?

I fully support reflecting on the past year and making a decision to do one thing (or several things) differently. I have made the same resolution the past few years. To be a person who answers her phone. Every year I’ve failed. I get anxiety when my phone rings. My ringtone is 50 Cent’s Just a Lil Bit, so I get anxiety when I hear anything from 50 Cent’s oeuvre. I’ve worked it out logically. There is nothing inherently terrifying about a phone call or me answering it. Probably the person on the other end is my mom and probably she is calling because she wants to mail me treats. 

Phones make me uncomfortable for several reasons. I can be a little scared of commitment. I really enjoy having unstructured time to myself so I fear that I will get roped into days-long activities without opportunity for escape. I don’t like telling people no. I don’t like how pauses feel on the phone. Getting off the phone is awkward. I rely heavily on hand gestures when I tell stories. I feel sad that people cannot hear those over the phone. So I usually let it go to voicemail and respond by text.

But then people think of you as unreliable and they don’t call. Possible scenerio: my three favorite, funniest, best-smelling friends are going to take a speedboat to Hawaii and the have space for one more.

Friend: We can fit one more person on this speedboat, who should we invite?

Other Friend: How about Britt?

Third Friend: I’d love to invite Britt; she makes great snacks, but she never answers her phone and we need to leave immediately.

This year my resolution is to be a person who answers her phone!