It is already almost the end of January, so I guess I have gotten a late start... but I thought I should still at least note the things I want to do in 2008:
1. Write More and More Often
As mentioned in my first post, I have started spending more time playing games and stumbling than doing things that are creative and productive, so my goal is to change that this year by writing more on this blog and on other blogs, and perhaps by creating something for publication such as a short story or a poem. In fact I have considered writing a novel, maybe this is my year?
2. Stay in Shape
In 2007 I managed to get in shape and lose a lot of weight, but over the holidays I became lax in my workout schedule and eating habits, which caused me to gain some of the weight back. This year I want to work out regularly (3-4 times a week) and eat healthfully throughout the year instead of in spurts. For me working out usually means running on the treadmill or perhaps riding a stationary bike. This year I want to start doing yoga again, start snowboarding again, and ride my bike outside more often. I used to do those things all the time, but it has been a while. Another thing I would like to do more often is hike and backpack.
3. Cultivate Friendships, Old and New
Since I have been in college I have become somewhat introverted and even shy. I don't know why... in high school I was quite the extrovert and even still I love being social. Its just that in college I have gotten wrapped up in my own life to the point that friendships have fallen by the wayside. To counter that I want to start making a point to spend time with friends I have and also to make new friends whenever possible. On a practical level this means making dinner dates and plans to go out together, calling friends as I think of them, and starting up conversations with the people around me instead of just going about my day thinking about all of the things I need to be doing. I have learned that while there are always things to be done relationships need their own time and attention and should be a priority.
Those are really the main ones. I have several other goals, like I want to visit Europe or do a triathlon, but those are things that can wait. Hopefully by taking steps to better myself I will be able to accomplish everything in my lifetime.
When I was in high school I kept a blog, a xanga actually, of my daily thoughts and experiences. Sometimes I would post poems I wrote or maybe a few pictures, and occasionally the well-thought-out essay in response to a topic that was on my mind, but generally my high school xanga was a place to vent. It was more like a journal that was intended to be read than a formal blog. I still have that xanga, but it is dead. I never post there anymore, and no one reads it. To some extent I still use it to note important events in my life, but not really. There is nothing creative there anymore and it is almost an insult to what it once was.
I have another blog, Shayna the Neuroscientist, but I haven't posted there in a long time either. It was meant to be a place for well-written blogs on topics I had considered seriously or researched, particularly those pertaining to religion and other "big issues." I am proud of the things I have written there, but honestly it is too formal for me to be able to post things regularly. I hope to write there more frequently starting now, and I plan to start including science topics such as responses to things I learn in class or reviews of new science articles that I read.
In the meantime, I have made it a goal for this year to write more and more often. Sometime between when I entered college and now my writing output has slowed to a trickle, and I regret it. Life has been busy, that is certainly one reason why I have spent less time ruminating on life in front of a notebook... but I have also started diverting more and more free time to less creative time sinks including video games, tv shows, and Stumbleupon.
For that reason it is one of my (numerous) new year's resolutions to begin writing more, and to aid in that goal I am starting this blog. Don't expect too much here - the ramblings of my mind aren't always all that interesting and the events in life are often quite mundane. Besides, my goal here isn't as much to entertain, inform, or provoke thought as it is to simply get my thoughts on paper.
Hopefully, though, you will enjoy reading my thoughts, unedited as they may be.
