I kind of can't believe 2012 is over. It was probably one of the biggest years of my life. I moved to a new city, I lived alone for the first time, I got first one and then two amazing jobs. I learned a new sport, I broke a bone, I went to Boston and to Virginia, a whole lot of people I know got married (I was only there for one of them but let's not kid ourselves, it was the important one anyway). I kept a wonderful relationship going despite being in different places (physically and mentally). I made new friends but kept the old. I took the GREs and applied to graduate schools. I FINALLY saw my brother and Gaea again! I grew. A lot. I got better. I started this year out terrified and even a little depressed but I'm finishing it happy and hopeful and - I wouldn't quite say confident, there's still a lot of room to improve there and I intend to keep working on it in 2013, my stomach still ties in knots when I think about grad school and the future - but if not confident then maybe...capable. It's a good feeling. I can build on capable.
My usual New Year's resolutions are essentially the same ones I've been making since high school. Eat better, exercise more, be more confident, worry less, meditate, etc. etc. And I want to do all of those things, of course, but they're the sort of thing I think about all the time and it's good to recommit but none of them are the kind of thing I can just check off the list, they're all things that I've been slowly getting better (or worse, in the case of meditating and exercising) about but I will probably be trying to get even better at for most of my life. I need to come up with a couple of more tangible, interesting, and new resolutions. So here goes:
1) Actually start birding. I have a good bird book, I have binoculars, I want to hike and be out in nature, I should really start doing this. I heard Tundra Swans on Lake Mendota the other night, it's a good start.
2) Read at least three new books. I've been so busy with two jobs and grad school apps I haven't really sat down to read much and when I do it tends to be old favorites and not new ones and I often tend to fall asleep. I'm keeping it a low number on the off chance I start grad school in August and once again lose all time for reading.
3) Find some exercise fun thing to stick with. Last year I tried dance and yoga but neither of them stuck. I'm considering going back to martial arts but it starts at 6pm on weeknights which is often the time I'm just leaving work, so I'm not sure if I can manage it or not. I need to find something that I will keep doing, and preferably somewhere I can make some new friends.
4) Cook more. It doesn't even have to be new meals or complex meals all the time, I've finally in the last week stopped being quite so afraid of throwing random spices into things and seeing what happens. And you know what? It was tastey! I've also started actually looking at the recipes I've collected over the last year, and some of them are really easy. I can do this, it's time to start.
I have a lot more I want to work on, but I think for now four is good. Plus my old standbys of be healthier, be happier, be more confident and happy that I'm me. I've made leaps and bounds on most of these in the past year (I started out really well with exercising but towards the end of the year slacked off a lot). I'm really proud of the progress I've made in 2012 and hopeful about the progress I can make in 2013. Thank you to all of you who made 2012 wonderful, and I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2013!
P.S. In 4 days I turn 24! How insane is that?
