"New Year. New Me" by Sanvi Hiremath: Jan. 2024 3rd Place

I blinked open my eyes. Today was the day! When the two moon rotation was complete, it marked the start of a new year! It was officially 500789! I jumped out of bed and quickly ran into the living room. There it was. My list of new year's resolutions. Right now I work as a researcher for the Voridian Institute of Science and Technology, but I had always loved cooking. One of my resolutions was to join a cooking club! There had been one near Downtown Voridian, (one of the biggest downtowns in the galaxy) had I had hoped to join it.

Another resolution I had was to learn a different language. Of course, everyone in Voridian knew the traditional language, Zeta, but I wanted to learn different languages too. I traveled a lot for my research, yet I always had to use a translator whenever talking to the locals. So, I had decided that I wanted to learn the other common languages, Krylonian, Xetpolia, and Zalaxian.

Last but not least, I wanted to travel beyond our galaxy. I had always wanted to go and visit Earth, one of the oldest and ancient planets. It had been home to creatures called humans, and they had been the smartest in their time. Sadly, they were soon wiped out by a neighboring planet, who was a host to the infamous Vexians.

Luckily, they had made a museum about the life of humans, in one of the biggest buildings the Vexians had found. Apparently, it was called a White House. I made a mental note to see when the next droid was going to depart to Earth. I smiled in satisfaction as I planned out my resolutions. This was going to be a fantastic year!