Resolutions

I didn't really think about making any resolutions at the start of the new year.  It always seems somewhat contrived to me.  I always have things I want to do, why should the new year be different?  But in the first (nearly) two weeks of this new year, I have realized there are some things that I want to do with 2014.  In all instances, they essentially amount to finding peace, or making peace with myself.

1) Go to church at least twelve times.  This might sound easy to do, but I tried to do it last year and failed.  I managed to go, I think, seven times.  But this year, I want to go at least twelve times.  Averages to just one service a month.  That should definitely be manageable.  Plus, going to church always calms me and makes me think-- about my life, the nature of God, the world we live in.  It's almost always a good experience, especially at the Episcopal church I attend here in D.C.

2) Rosetta Stone for at least one hour, at least three times a week.  For Christmas, Zan got me Rosetta Stone Spanish (Spain) and I vow to actually use it.  I've installed it on my computer, but I haven't really done much with it yet.  Every year it seems I have a language learning goal, and this year I want to follow through.  My hope is that by next new year, I can at least read children's books in Spanish.

3) Begin yoga and/or ballet.  I've been wanting to start dancing again for ages, and similarly I've been wanting to take a regular yoga class for ages.  I'm not sure I'll have time to do both, but I've found both an adult ballet studio and a yoga studio nearby: I want to go to a couple of test classes of each, and then actually commit to showing up once a week for either a ballet or yoga class.  It will be good exercise, a time to use my body AND my mind.  I think making that time for myself will also make me feel more like a real human, with real passions and hobbies, rather than a half-human who does nothing but sit around and read for class.

4) Roadtrip.  Or airplane trip.  I want to get out and see the world.  I feel like I've spent years cooped up in one place or another, reading for classes, and I want to take time this year to break free from that.  I want to be spontaneous; I want to take side-trips and scenic routes.  I want to see the landscapes of the American west again.  I want to drink tea in Britain.  I want to use my soon-to-be acquired Spanish in Spain.  I don't know if I'll get to do all that this year, but I at least want to take one nice trip with no real plan besides see-what-I-see.

5) Choose happiness.  Whether this is done by taking a picture a day of something that makes me smile (which I might) or by saying, "No, I think tonight I'll stay in and read a book for fun," or "I think I'll go see this movie by myself because I can," or "You know what? I deserve gumbo and beignets today simply because I exist," I want to choose happiness for 2014.  Everyday.