Goals for the New Year

It's that time of year when most people set goals for themselves that are more often than not fairly unobtainable. Our hearts in the right place, but come February, when we are no where near this golden idol of an achievement we created for ourselves, most of us discover that our resolve is held together with duck tape and good intentions. And slowly the adhesive fails and we give up. The only thing a New Year's resolution has done for me is make me feel like a failure. However,  having goals in life is a good thing. They motivate and inspire us; push us to go farther and do more than we ever thought we could. So this year, I'm relaxing my expectations a bit, not because I don't think I could achieve something grand, but because baby steps can sometimes get us to our destinations faster than a gigantic leap. Many of these have grander ends and larger hopes. But instead of looking at the whole, vast panoramic as my goal, I'll take a small section of the image and improve upon that. And perhaps, but working on things a little at a time, the picture will come into focus even better than I imagined.

1. Continue to work on my French. 

I am marrying into a family that is part French... as in they live in France. My fiancé is a dual citizen with France and is pretty darn close to being fluent. I want our children to be bilingual. Which means that my toddler-equivalent French just isn't going to cut it. Now, I've never been very good with languages. I'm surprised I'm coherent in English half of the time. So I think it is very far fetched to say that this year I will become fluent. But to continue to work on my vocabulary and strengthen my skills so that I can get around France without having to ask "Parlez-vous Anglais?" all the time and to be able to have a simple conversation with my future grandmother-in-law (who does not parler Anglais at all) is not so out of my grasp.


2. Drink more water when I'm not at work.

I've gotten pretty good about having one cup of coffee or tea in the morning and then sticking to water the rest of the day. Sure, there is an occasional soda or a second cup of coffee, but that is pretty rare. However, I'm only this good during the week. On the weekend there are days when at 7pm at night, I realize that I haven't had a single sip of water all day. H2O is good for the mind, body and soul. We all know the benefits of drinking water: it flushes impurities, curbs appetite, aids digestion, etc… Considering all of waters magically abilities (and just the shear fact that the majority of us are dehydrated), this is something I have to remedy.


3. Cook more.

This one is difficult, not because I don't know how, but because my schedule doesn't really allow for me or Mike to be home long enough to cook. Especially in the winter. There are days when it takes over 2 hours just to get home from work. Usually by then we are so hungry and so tired that we will just get whatever, as long as it gets food in our bellies ASAP. This is not good for our health or our pocketbooks. While getting jobs that don't take over 12 hours of our day and zap all energy would help this, I want to get better about making meals ahead of time or using our crock pot. Not only is it just better for us nutritionally, but it is good for my soul. I actually really like cooking and baking. And I'm pretty good at it, too, when I have the time and the energy for it.

4. Rediscover the artist.

The arts used to be my life. When I was in school, I was in all three musics, plus was part of several extra musical ensembles. After school I would go to play rehearsal. And after play rehearsal, I would go to dance class. There was a period of my life when I was dancing 20 hours a week. I was usually in 2 shows at once. I know I'm older and I can't be as crazy as I was 10 years ago. But still, I miss dancing. I miss singing. I want to act more. I should try to take a class, make sure I continue to audition for shows. I need to find a way to squeeze these back into my life without completely sacrificing my next goal...


5. Make time for loved ones.

Who can't improve on this a little? I feel like my life has been an endless cycle of work, sleep, work, sleep. While I need to make a living, that corporate merry-go-round is no way to make a life. I feel out of touch with friends and family. Balancing work and play is always a challenge, but there is little to no balance in my life right now. I need to work on evening this out a bit and just make the time to see those I care for and want in my life.


6. Continue on my search for who I am and what I should do in this life.

This one seems a bit… philosophical, I guess. And just a little bit cheesy. "Who am I and why am I here?" Isn't that the eternal question? But to speak troth, I have no idea what to do with my life. I'm not fishing for compliments nor is this a cry for help. It's just the truth… and a stage of life for many 20-somethings. I'm searching and testing and batting around ideas. But there is no clear picture. Or even a semi-clear picture. I know I'll find it and figure it out. But I just need to keep myself motivated enough to continue in the pursuit of my purpose.