Resolutions 2012

I decided this year was going to be the year I came up with a New Year's Resolution. Up until this point, I hadn't ever made a single serious Resolution, so I figured I would make up for lost time as well. I decided this year, 2012, I would come up with not only one New Year's Resolution, but 23 of them, for each year I missed in the past. And really I'm posting this the 5th instead of the 1st because I didn't come up with the idea until the 2nd, and couldn't come with all of the Resolutions until today. I can't really say what made me decide that this year would be the year for Resolutions, maybe it's just my way of dealing with a quarter life crisis, maybe it's because this is the year the world ends, or maybe it's because every once in awhile I get a wild idea in my head and decide to just run with it. Most likely, it's the last option.

It has also been pointed out to me that my list of Resolutions doesn't contain resolutions so much as a to do list, or a bucket list. I personally prefer the Resolutions option, but whatever.

So here they are, my items I would like to accomplish by the end of the year in form of a list:

(See, Resolutions List had such a better ring)

1) Come up with 23 Resolutions.

-Yes, the very first item on my list is a total and complete cop out, but hey, at least I know I accomplished one thing! In addition to that, I would like to remind you all that this list took me two days to make... It wasn't nearly as easy as you would think.

2) Start a blog.

-You may think this is also a cop out, since the Resolutions and the blog go hand in hand. The whole reason I wanted to start a blog was to chronicle my journey of achieving these Resolutions, and yet here sitting at spot two is the Resolution to start a blog. However, I have started many a blog and never kept one current, it's always something I want to do, and also something I inevitably give up on (usually after only one or two posts). Not only is this blog a fulfillment of one of my Resolutions, and a means to read about them, but it also serves as motivation, publicly broadcasting that I have these goals and mean to achieve them, and letting you read as I complete them causes me to be held accountable for them. They are here and in the open, and I must strive to succeed!

3) Sing loudly and completely seriously in front of 2 or more people who aren't related to me.

-Singing is something I really like to do. I like to make up songs and sing in silly voices to entertain anyone who might overhear me. I also like to sing along to the radio. However, something I try to avoid is singing where people cannot only hear me, but also know I am singing seriously. What I mean by singing seriously is using my Absolute Best Sunday Choir Voice, and not just goofing off. I think I steer clear of this for the same reason most people do, what if my best isn't good enough? What if my best actually sucks? It's hard thinking you are somewhat decent at something just to find out you suck. But it's better to live with the truth than a lie. Hopefully my grandma wasn't suffering from My Grandchild Is The Greatest No Matter What Syndrome, and I am not awful at singing, because this year, I'm finding out. I'm thinking Karaoke.

4) Drink at the Movies.

-This is something I never even thought of doing. Seriously, it had never crossed my mind. It's true I didn't have a sip of alcohol until I was 21, and I never even finished a glass of anything until a year and a half later; but that doesn't mean I hadn't thought about drinking (See Resolution 14). But still, I didn't know people did this until I read Julia Wertz's autobiographical comic called Drinking At The Movies. She didn't really mention the movies or drinking at them throughout most of the book, but nevertheless something stuck with me about it. Maybe it's just a cool sounding phrase, or maybe it's because it caught me unawares, whatever it is it caused this Resolution to come to fruition.

5) Shop At Macy's.

-I can understand why you might have questions about this one. It is a bit odd for a Resolution, and many people probably do this on a semi-regular basis. This is a very personal Resolution and a very important one. Resolutions are all about moving on, doing away with the old and pushing forward to the new. I haven't been to a Macy's in over three years. When my grandma was alive, Macy's was her favorite store. Most Thursdays, which were Aunt Sharon's day off, the three of us ladies (my grandma, my aunt, and myself), would head out on the town for some lunch, errands, and whatever the day held for us. Usually what the day held for us was shopping, and a lot of the time it was at Macy's. It's been three long years, and even though I still miss my grandma as much as I always have, it's time to move past this block I've had. My grandma wasn't one to hold off from something she liked, so I'll follow her lead, no more holding back.

6) Go to a concert *I* choose.

-I've been to many a concert, most of which were local shows put on by my buddy Scott. But the few big concerts I've been to I was invited by someone else and just tagged along, usually my good friend Ben (actually all of them but warped tour one year have been with him). Though they were all bands on my iTunes, and even iPod, none of them were really shows that I would have picked for myself. So this year, I am going to find a concert, for a band, that *I* want to go to. Hopefully I can find someone who will go with me, either to tag along, or because they really truly want to go, either will do.

7) Beat Pokemon Yellow from Pallet Town to the Unknown Dungeon.

-Yes, I've beaten Pokemon Yellow before. Yes, I've beaten several other Pokemon games since then. Yes, this is a silly Resolution. Pokemon Yellow was the very first Pokemon game I ever played, but I never owned it, until now. Growing up my little brother Justin owned Pokemon Yellow and I owned a Gameboy Color, since we needed both to play, we figured out a way to share (until I bought Pokemon Blue and he permanently borrowed our cousin's Gameboy). That being said, I never owned it, and always loved it. This Christmas my dear sweet friend Jessica, who has been to many a used game shop with me on my continuous search for Pokemon Yellow, was kind enough to purchase this Grail of Games for me for Christmas. So since I have it and I *just* got it... I should play it until I beat it, right? Right.

8) Run a 10K or longer race.

-Last spring several of my friends and my sister brainwashed me into thinking running is fun, and I decided to do a 5K. While training for that my sister tricked me into planning on doing a half marathon, however the half marathon was in Portland and on 4th of July weekend, and I could not get the time off work to go there. I still trained for my 5K and then ran and completed it when the day came, but sadly after that my motivation to run dwindled and I stopped doing it. This year, I'm going to up the ante. I want to run at least a 10K, maybe even a half marathon. As long as I train for it, I'm sure I can do it.

9) Start and Finish writing a short story or film.

-For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a writer. I've written several things throughout my years, but with the exceptions of assignments, journals, and non-assignment essays I've never (or at least hardly ever) completed* anything. I've started probably literally thousands of stories, hundreds at least, but this year, I'm going to finish one. It doesn't have to be the greatest and it doesn't have to be that long, but I'm going to write something for fun and I'm going to finish it.

*Come to think of it, I have written several short films, but they were kind of dumb and before I really knew how, so they don't count... So hopefully in a few years I don't think the same of this one.

10) Ride an elephant.

-Elephants are awesome. They are the third most awesomest animal (Unicorn and Shark being before it). I want to ride one. Apparently children do it all the time at circuses. I want to be those children. Well, not really, being a children isn't all it's cracked up to be, but I do want to ride an elephant.

11) Volunteer two times this year.

-I'm selfish. I know I'm selfish. I'm selfish and if you aren't someone I care about, I probably don't want to and won't help you. Maybe if I volunteer to feed some people or something I will stop being such a jerk and I will care about people other than myself, my friends, and my family.

12) Do or learn something new.

-This is a little vague. I think I did that on purpose because it was one of the last ones I came up with and I was having one heck of a time thinking of Resolutions. I think I also left it vague because how it is it's a twofer. I can do something on the list that I've never done before and get two for one. I'm the queen of the cop out. Anyway ideas I had for this one were: learn to cook a new dish/type of food (maybe sushi which I've wanted to learn how to make for awhile now), learn a new language, climb a rock wall, or take a pottery class.

13) Do something dangerous.

-Another vague one. This one is vague because I have very specific ideas but I'm not sure which will come to the foreground. Here's what I'm thinking: skydiving, which is my first choice, and I even have two of my friends who say they would go with me; white water rafting, which I did once with my siblings, my cousin Tommy, and a few others; or bungee jumping, which I haven't yet mentioned to anyone, any takers?

14) Drink Absinthe.

-Every since the early 00s, when I first saw Moulin Rouge I have been entranced by the green fairy. I want to capture her and try her in her natural green liquid form. I would prefer it to be REAL Absinthe, too, like illegal in America absinthe. Not sure how plausible leaving the country is, but it works well with Resolution 15.

15) Go on at least three trips.

-Every year I go on at least one trip, usually to visit my sister in Georgia. This year I want to go on at least three. I've been planning one over Spring Break with my friend Jackie to visit our other friend Sam. Not to mention I have plane tickets that expire in a month that I can use to go anywhere. So that's two trips down, just one more to go. Luckily, I have, not only Resolution 14, but also Resolution 22.

16) Save a little bit of money from EACH paycheck.

-I like doing things, most of the things I like to do costs money. While I'm not necessarily bad at saving money, I'm not very consistent with it either. In order to save money to do the things I like, I am going to try, this year, to save some money from every single paycheck, most likely to go towards paying for one of my other Resolutions. Hey, this Resolution is more like a real Resolution. Weird.

17) No Dropping Classes.

-I'm a notorious class dropper. This year I'm going to try not to drop any. If that means signing up for less, so be it. I can do this.

18) No Unofficial Withdrawals from Classes.

-Uh, so maybe I don't always let the teacher/adviser/school know I've dropped the class... Maybe that's what's wrecked my GPA... Whatever. This probably should be included in the previous one, but I'd hate it if I used it as a loophole. Here's to a successful school year!

19) Go To Church Once A Month.

-Everyone who knows me knows God plays a big part in my life (or at least I hope they do). However, no matter how important God is to me, I've never really felt the same about church. I need to make a conscious effort, or else I'm not going to go. Well, here it is. Once a month. Easier than every week. Harder than just Christmas and Easter.

20) Read One Book A Month.

-Really, this is just read 12 books this year, if I read two one month and zero the next, that's ok. Last year I only read maybe 5 books and that's very sad for me. Reading is one of my favorite pastimes and I need to make more time in my life for it.

21) Take More Pictures and Do Something With Them Other than Just Leaving Them On My Phone's Hard Drive.

-Ask Valerie; I'm really bad at putting pictures up on facebook or putting them anywhere for the public to see.

22) New York City for New Year's Eve.

-Yes, I realize New Year's Eve usually sucks. Yes, I realize that with all those drunken people that it will probably suck even worse. I don't care. I think it's mostly one of those bragging rights things, I'll always be able to say, hey I saw the ball drop one year at Times Square. I think this might be my most unrealistic goal. My mom has already told me she doesn't want me to do it. It still made the list. I'm still going to try. NYC for NYE 12/13.

23) Get A Year Older.

-For many years this has been my only New Year's Resolution. Simple, achievable, and if I don't succeed, it really doesn't matter I won't know the difference.

So here they are, I hope you enjoy joining me over this year as I attempt to succeed in my New Years Resolutions, fulfill my bucket list, or mark items off my to do list, whatever you want to call it, I'm going to do it. (Hopefully).

-Shan Out.