My Corner of the Sky

06Jan12

New Years Resolutions
Definition : (noun) a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year.
via the Cambridge Dictionary
 
Every year, as the clock ticks down to midnight, I rack my brain trying to think of my New Years Resolutions. They are usually pretty typical – lose weight, get healthy, eat better, learn a new skill. And, like most people in the world, these are forgotten within 3 weeks of the turn of the new year. The “New Year, New You” mentality slowly fades away as life starts taking over – work, friends, family, bills… and before you know it, it is December 31^st and you contemplate whether to create new resolutions or stick with the ones that will probably be forgotten again. Why do we make new years resolutions if we have no intention of keeping them? Is it just because it is tradition? Who knows, but it is a great time to reflect on accomplishments on the past year and look to what we want in the next.

In college, goals and challenges were easier to identify – balance class and parties and find a job after graduation. Being a few years out, I’ve slightly lost my focus on what I want my bigger picture to look like. There are a lot of things I want to do, but I always talk about doing them without moving forward with anything. I want this year to be more meaningful. I mean, with the world ending, there’s no better time than the present right?

There are a few goals I have set out for myself:
 
Learn to cook
I am so envious of those who can look in the pantry and create a meal. Having a Filipino mother and Vietnamese father, good food was abundant at my house. I have always been obsessed with cooking shows (really anything food related), yet never really had the incling to try the recipes. I am an insanely busy person and not very patient, so cooking has never really been a top priority. Honestly, I am perfectly content with a bag of vegetables or popcorn for dinner. My boyfriend, on the other hand, loves to cook. He can make anything out of nothing and it be delicious. We recently moved in together and I find myself more inclined to try new recipes. Having someone else to cook for makes it a little more appealing than just cooking for myself. I want to cook one new thing a week. With the help of Pinterest, I don’t think that’ll be a problem. In an effort to be healthier, I will include at least one vegetable with lunch and dinner.

Try a DIY Project
I’m not a very creative person, but I really love crafty things. The new apartment is still bare of décor because we just can’t decide what we want. I want to be able to create whatever we decide to do – not only cost-effective but it’ll be more personal. Also, these skills will probably come in handy whenever we decide to buy a house and are forced to do everything ourselves.

Make a Quilt / Learn to Sew Well
In college, I decided to join a sorority. It not only made a large impact on my college career, but left me with thousands of shirts that take up more space than I really have. Ever since graduation, I have wanted to turn all these shirts into a quilt and (being on a DIY kick) I want to do it myself. I learned to knit when I was little, but those skills are long forgotten. I might still know some things I learned in my Theatre Costume class, but I doubt it. I think I will start with smaller projects and move up to my quilt. It may not be done this year, but I will focus on perfecting my skills and making it the ultimate project.

Focus on Finances
I love to travel almost as much as I love food. There is just something about being somewhere unknown and experiencing a new culture that is completely exhilerating. I spent a semester of my junior year in London and spent most of the time traveling elsewhere. I could have stayed a year and not gone everywhere I wanted to go. I plan to go to every continent at least once before I die. Traveling requires money. In fact, everything requires money – too much money in my opnion. I want to really focus on my finances and learn to stick to a budget so I can save for the things I really want to do. This will take a lot of patience and the ability to say “no.” I struggle a lot with this because I like to please people and I like to do everything. I hate backing out of things because it makes me feel like an awful person, but my wallet just won’t do it anymore. And it’s time to start listening to it.

So there you have it, my goals for a better me. It may take longer than a year, but life is a journey. We might as well enjoy the ride…

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Tags: cooking, DIY, finances, resolutions