2011 is almost here!

It’s New Year’s Eve and I cannot believe that 2010 is almost over. For me, 2010 was a year of adjustment: I applied to doctoral programs, realized that only running every single day makes my body hate me, and met a wonderful new boy. All in all, I can say that 2010 was hard at times but I learned a lot about myself, about what I can handle, and about what I want in life. And I guess that’s really all I can hope for.

With that said, I was 2011 to be my best year yet. Obviously there are some things that are completely out of my control (what schools I get into, etc) but if there’s one thing that 2010 taught me, it’s to roll with the punches and that is a lesson I’d like to carry over into the new year. So I’ve decided to come up with 11 goals (I know, 11 seems like a lot but most of mine will take very little effort!) in order to enrich my life and make me into a healthier, more well-rounded person.

11 goals for 2011:

1. Write every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s on my blog, in a journal, or on a random scrap of paper as I’m waiting for class to start.

2. Try more beer. Beer? Making me healthier? Yeah, no. But I love beer and tend to get stuck in a Blue Moon/Guinness rut. There is sooo much out there and I want to taste some of it!

3. Try more new recipes. Okay, another vague goal related to me getting stuck in ruts…I’ll revise this to “try at least one new recipe every other week”. Why every other week? Well, because I’m a busy student. So I’ll aim for more, but be content with less.

4. Start the day with Sun Salutations

5. Go ice skating (more often!). I’m a New England girl who was raised on ice skating. I now live in the South. When I first moved here, I skated every Saturday and I’m still not sure why I stopped.

6. “Detox” once a week

7. Run a sub-1:50 half marathon. I’m not sure when I’ll accomplish this or what race I’ll even do but this is a goal I have every year and I’m more certain this will be the year I accomplish it.

8. Be more open with my feelings. I tend to bury what I feel behind a wall when what I really need to do is allow myself to be vulnerable.

9. Get into a doctoral school. It’ll happen, but who knows where?!

10. Say sorry less. I apologize as a reflex and it’s just not okay.

11. Keep calm and carry on. Also, own it.

One Word

{I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers doing some Reverb 10 prompts and, although I’m late to the game, I feel that 2010 was a turning point for me as a person. And I’d like to take some time to reflect on all the changes and realizations that occurred. Granted, I got a late start to these prompts so I probably won’t be able to get through them all before 2010 is gone…and there may be multiple posts in one day…but some is better than none!}

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December 1 – One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?

Unexpected. That may seem like a strange way to describe a year, but that is how I feel about so many events that occurred in 2010. I officially stopped contact with a poisonous ex, I went on dates, I learned to speak my mind and be more logical about my opinions, I learned that I don’t need anyone to make me happy because I have that inside of me, and I got into a relationship with a truly wonderful dude. If you had asked me at this time last year what would happen during 2010, I can’t say that I would have predicted any of that.

Content; this is how I want to spend my 2011. I know that life has its ups and downs and sometimes everyone is cranky and that bad things happen. With all that being said, I have so much to be thankful for and happy about…and I want to spend more time just being happy and optimistic and enjoying the curve balls that life throws at me. I’ve been through enough horrible and difficult situations to realize that I am strong and I always manage to land on my feet (eventually) so I am confident that 2011 will be my best year yet.

The world is your oyster

Usually I wait until January to make big, lofty goals. January always seems like a good starting point. And in a way, it is;  it’s like the start line of a race (except the race is, well, a new year). Except I’ve decided that I’ve done enough waiting in my life and that it’s time to start making things happen now. Not in a day, not in a week, not in a month.

I could go into a whole bunch of cheesy and dramatic reasons about why this is but, really, it’s simply because I’m tired of putting things off. My life is on the precipice of new-ness (I am currently applying to grad school, in a fairly new relationship, graduating in May, and just lost my job). So yeah, I could wait. But with all of these changes occurring, why not roll with the punches?

I think that’s my best option at this point.

I’m not really sure what goes in to “introduction blog posts” so I guess I’ll just say this blog is going to chronicle my life as a future Ms. Doctor, a runner, a cyclist, and a very hungry 20-something girl. I hope you’ll follow along!