New Year, New You (or something less clichéd)

I am determined to make this year a good one.

That is something I have told myself every year for the past five or so years.

This is not to say that this goal has not been reached, they truly have been wonderful years, but at the same time I think, what the hell did I do for those 365 days? 

So seeing as this is the first year that I will not be attending school for 7 hours a day, I have decided to write a list of goals and resolutions that range from the banal to the profound so that I can look back on 2014 and see what I did and didn’t achieve, how much I did or didn’t grow and in the end hopefully be able to say, “This year was a good one”.

So here goes:

1. Blog regularly 

(I can already see this one dwindling but I am going to try my hardest!) 

2. Start learning a foreign language 

3. Be generous

4. Check Facebook a maximum of once a day

(Facebook, I’ve learnt, can be a key source of my unhappiness so unless there is some sort of pressing issue that requires me to check it more frequently, Facebook will not be taking up much of my precious time)

5. Travel 

6. Cook once a week, whether it be cupcakes or quinoa salad  

7. Never forget the importance of empathy 

8. Listen to new bands, musicians and genres of music 

9. Stop gossiping!  

(I would never say malicious things about another person but I do often find myself ‘gossiping’ and even though I can admit I enjoy it while I’m doing it, afterwards I always feel terrible. I’m hoping that being out of the school environment will assist in achieving this goal) 

   10. Do volunteer work

   11. Improve my music skills, learn more songs and practice regularly

   12. Remember friends birthdays

   13. Be willing to step out of my comfort zone

   14. Be willing to stay in my comfort zone

(A bit of a paradox, right? Well whilst I am trying to push myself to try new things, this does not mean I am going to enjoy them or want to do them again. So I want to get better at saying NO to things I know I am not comfortable with rather than making myself sick stressing over them or forcing myself to do things based on the expectations of others)

   15. Take up a new hobby

   16. Hug people

   17. Do a major cleanout and de-clutter of my bedroom and everything I own

   18. Complete at least 90% of my 2014 reading list

(I say 90% because I included War and Peace on this list and I’m not optimistic about my chances of finishing it)

   19. Talk about myself less

   20. Try Yoga

   21. Just think, it’s not a big deal.

(I write this after my Mum accidentally smashes my 1 month old Game of Thrones glass that I bought in New York, an absolute treasure of a souvenir, but as I fight back the urge to burst into tears I tell myself, it’s not a big deal.)

   22. Focus on saving money rather than spending it

   23. Make time to watch at least 1 film a week; I need my cinematic fix to stay sane!

   24. Talk to strangers

(Obviously standard ‘stranger danger’ rules apply here)  

   25. Write more; finished the unfinished stories as well as starting new ones

   26. Don't be afraid to be alone

   27. Tackle all of the nagging tasks I have been putting off for far too long

   28. Be loving and love will find you

And finally, remember if you’re not now here you’re nowhere.

(This was inspired in part by the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin)