RuthieBarrett

The start of the new year is the perfect time to think about goals and aspirations for the upcoming year, and a great way to do this is by making a vision board. 

Vision boards are collages containing images and quotes of dreams and aspirations. According to the Wall Street Journal, they gained popularity in the mid-2000s after author Rhonda Byrne published a book about the law of attraction and manifestation. 

The law of attraction is the belief that positive thoughts will bring positive results, and thus the vision board was born. 

Making a vision board is fairly simple and can be a very relaxing thing to do. Grab some magazines, scissors, paper, and glue and begin cutting out all that you dream for the year. If a physical copy is not your jam, you can also create vision boards online and find pictures on Pinterest and create a Pinterest board. 

There are many different ways to go about making a vision board, but the thought behind it remains the same.

Many people swear by making vision boards each year. Junior Aeriana Siefken says she enjoys making boards to “see what I wanted from the beginning of the year and the goals/motivation for the upcoming year.” She has had the best luck with accomplishing her goals by hanging it in her room so she “can see it every day as a reminder.”

Although there are many people who think vision boards are truly helpful and motivating, there are obviously some critics. 

Sophomore Slaine Regan is a person who can’t quite get on board (no pun intended). She has made multiple boards on Pinterest to map out her dream life, and she thinks they weren’t helpful because she believes that “they limit creativity and the chance to live one day at a time because I am constantly thinking about completing the goals on my board.”

Vision boards can be a helpful tool to make new changes in the new year and strive for a better you. Whether or not you are making a vision board, take a few minutes or an hour to envision what you want to accomplish by the end of the year.