I’m sitting in a hotel room in Boston with my family, ready to move in to Tufts tomorrow morning. I’m very excited, but predictably scared. It’s a huge change for me - from the countryside of Dover Plains to the urban sprawl of Boston.
In the beginning of this year, I vowed to set a new goal or focus for each month and work at it. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again - I messed up. August was noticeably missing a resolution, but the most important part of accomplishing a goal is getting back on track when knocked off course.
Let’s get back on track. I’m dedicating September to trying new things, meeting new people, and immersing myself in new experiences. Although this is what college is all about, I plan to put special effort into this endeavor. I won’t lay back and let these experience find me; I’m going to go out and seek them myself.
Besides the changes in my life, you may have noticed a change on this blog. Because this is a very symbolic time in my life, a time of transition, I changed the color scheme of the blog to something much more refreshing. It’s only one of many changes that I have lined up for this website when I get some free time.
I don’t know how my blogging will change now that I’m starting college, but I assure you that I will continue to write. I’m not sure how often or about what, but I will always write about the important things in my life and how they may relate to you, especially when it comes to bettering our world.
I hope you’ll stay with me on this journey.
A year is a long time. It’s around three hundred sixty-five days on our Gregorian calendar. By my unscientific estimate, most people forget their new year’s resolution a few months into the new year. Wouldn’t that time be better spent spacing out several small-scale resolutions - temporary efforts that add up to much more than the sum of their parts?
I think so. At least, it’s worth a shot.
I resolve to make a distinct effort to better myself each month of this year. Rather than resolving one change in my behavior and life for the entire year, I’ll break it up into twelve pieces. I’ll do my best to carry out that resolution for the entire month and perhaps take it further. One resolution may be painfully serious, and the next one seemingly insignificant. But, twelve small things are better than one incomplete thing, right?
Last year, my problem was that I resolved to do too many things. To add to the problem, those things were basically immeasurable. This year, I’ll be doing lots of things, but only one at a time. It certainly sounds like a fun experiment.
You should probably join me. It can’t hurt. If you’d like to join me, post your January resolution in the comments.
Write a note to yourself,
you’ll be glad that you did.
It’s a reminder of the past,
a piece of your thoughts frozen in time,
unaltered by fickle emotions.
It can be a diary, journal, or post-it.
Not a blog, never a blog,
for the public eye foils honesty.
Write one from yourself, to yourself, by yourself.
Stash it away, and be sure to read it later.
I wrote that poem, A Note to Yourself, for a school literary magazine earlier this year. I rarely write poetry, but I felt (and feel) passionate about this topic.
I usually post important details about my life here on Exposay. The crux of this post, however, happened before Exposay even existed. Last year, starting January 1, along with my new year’s resolutions, I instituted a secret policy. I started keeping something resembling a journal. Using the application MacJournal, I wrote myself a note every day for the last 365 days. In a journal, analogous to a file folder, I created twelve journals corresponding to the twelve months of the year. In each of those journals, I wrote between 28 to 31 entries, corresponding to the days of the month.
I use Christmas Break as a reflection period of the previous year. Keeping with that theme, and listening to the advice in my poem, I read my entries for the last year. My first entry was simple enough… Continue reading ‘A Note to Yourself’
Last year, before I started this blog, I was an avid Facebook-noter. To clarify, Facebook has a feature called “notes,” which resemble blog posts. On December 31, 2006, while I was feeling motivate, I posted this:
I don’t know what it is, but I’ve felt really good recently, overall. I want to keep the feeling going and have the best year possible, so I’m going to try to stick to a few ‘rules’ (resolutions)…
1. Reduce conflict, be more affable. Just be a better person, socially, and in every way possible.
2. Don’t overreact or under-react to things that happen. As I’ve learned, these things can control you.
3. Get Things Done.
4. Don’t get taken advantage of by anyone.
5. Go after things, get ‘em.
6. Have a little more fun.
7. Eat better.
8. Make backups.
Why am I putting these ‘rules’ on Facebook? Well, now I have a reason to hold myself to them.
Have a great year everyone! 
Seriously, make it great. Stay safe. Stay happy. Don’t change, unless it’s for the better.
I had some lofty goals, didn’t I? Let’s see how I did. Continue reading ‘2007 Resolutions in Review’
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