Another January Post

As usual, it's a new year and I feel the need to make resolutions and try to plan out my life. Looking back on previous efforts, I realize my life has turned out completely differently than I anticipated. I have learned that as much as I try, I simply cannot plan out my life. I cannot escape my life. I cannot be perfect. I cannot please everyone. I haven't traveled or volunteered or visited half the people I wanted to or applied to graduate school. I suppose I failed at a lot of things I had planned to do.

But while I may not be perfectly happy about everything that's happened (or hasn't happened), I can honestly say that I'm much more content with my state of being. I'm in a far better place, literally and figuratively. Life is still incredibly confusing and the future is daunting, but I'm much happier than I was before. It's amazing.

Ideas and aspirations are all I can manage right now. Serious plans and goals will come later...

The Little Things
- Cook more often
- Eat less meat
- Buy more produce in season
- Go to yoga at least twice a week
- Start running again
- Take ballet classes
- Be on time for work
- Keep my home in better order
- Buy fewer things
- Drink less
- Take more pictures
- Read more
- Write more
- Blog more

The Fun Things
- Visit friends in FL, NC, Chicago, Boston, and DC
- Write more letters and postcards to friends and family
- Call my parents, sister, and grandmothers more often
- Go to museums, concerts, ballets, plays, and art exhibits more often
- Keep up my journal since writing by hand is beautiful and soothing
- Keep a list of the books I read and consistently write reviews of them
- Figure out how to finally get myself to France, England, Italy, and/or Spain

The Big Things
- Be the best I can possibly be at my job. With the confusion of 2012 behind me, I think this will be much easier and I'm off to a good start.
- Save as much money as possible... I set up two new savings accounts already!
- Attend lots of free and low-cost events for nonprofits, marketing, writing, policy, child welfare, networking, graduate school, etc. Again, off to a good start.
- Apply to graduate school for public policy...and get in. This will be a bit more of a challenge and is probably the most serious, set-in-stone goal I have.

The Hard Things
- Be kind to people, even when I don't want to be
- Stop myself from judging others, even when it's easy to
- Be completely honest with myself and those I care about
- Accept my flaws and failures gracefully
- Don't worry about the past unless it can help me grow
- Stop trying to be everything to everyone
- Learn how to love again and let others love me

I never said it would be easy...