Resolutions for 2015

Monday, January 5, 2015

Like I mentioned last year, I'm a resolutions kind of gal. And as predicted a few of those resolutions went forgotten or incomplete, but it's a tradition so we carry on! Before I jump into some of the goals I've set for this year, I want to quickly recap last year's. And because it's a new year - how did I babble on without wishing you all a Happy New Year yet?!

Happy New Year to you all, my darlings!


I could totally just insert that up above and pretend like I was on top of my game and remembered it, but let's be real, that's not how it happened... So, because it's a new year and we're trying to be positive, I'm only going to list the resolutions I actually kept. Don't worry there aren't many of them :)

Drank more water. All hail the Brita filter.
Read 20 books. Actually I read 32, after upping the goal to 50, but we can leave that last part out.
Continued to build my blog & publicize it (on Twitter at least!). Oh and for the most part, I tried to produce quality posts that I can be proud of.
Loved the home I live in. There's a little more to do but I completed quite a few projects around my apartment that make it feel much more mine.
Stop being afraid to be a 'writer'. This happened! Not only did I write 50k words in a single month, I settled into the idea: I am a writer, because I write. The end :)

Huh. Seems like I didn't do so bad after all. On the blog, that is. Out of my personal list of twenty-two, I completed only six. Eeep! Well, my 2015 resolutions build from some of those and include some of my failed attempts from last year, so redemption is on the horizon. Aside from following a budget, using less swear words and learning to play wizard's chess like Ron Weasley, here are a few of my more attainable for  2015:

Travel.

Perpetual resolution, for sure. Every year I say I'll travel more and I never get to do it. At least I didn't get out of the country like I had hoped. I did, however, go on more weekend trips. I can count four off the top of my head. But I'd love to get back to London this year. There's just something about traveling that opens up your whole word :)

Be on time.

Another carry over from last year, although I have to give myself credit for being much more conscious of it this year. As I said before, it's like a running joke with my friends that I can't get anywhere on time, because I don't let on how much this truth about myself bothers me. So, we try, try again.

Keep in touch.

Anyone who's ever texted or emailed me knows I'm not the best at getting back to people, although I've been getting better these past few months. It's not about being rude; it's just that I think too much and I have a million thoughts swirling through my head so I forget. The key for me is just making time to check in with the people that matter.

Immerse myself in writing. 

I could write an entire blog post around this, I really could. The thoughts are bouncing around my head like pingpong balls.

I'd say last year's goal of calling myself a writer is my proudest completion. Throughout the year, I worked on becoming more accustomed to the title. I've made pretty big steps in the way of credentials, culminating in completing NaNoWriMo 2014. So, it follows that my most anticipated resolution for 2015 is related to writing. I have a few projects in the motion, including writing and sharing more of my short stories every few months, and completing and editing the first draft of my novel. I'd like to be querying during 2015 as well, which seems entirely plausible if I can keep up the momentum. Also, it'd be amazing to write for a living, but that deserves its own blog post entirely.
Reading is on the other side of that writing equation that results in immersion. According to Stephen King, "[i]f you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write." And I mean, if King says it, it's pretty much cannon. I'm 99% sure that this year's reading goal will be 50 books. It seems fairly doable considering my other commitments.  

Experience the city.  

I'm a New York girl, and part of living in this glorious city for most of your life is taking it for granted. I wanted to change that. Sometime in 2013, I started a NYC Love Affair series in an attempt to take better advantage of my surroundings and committing to documenting it for my blog. It's been many months since then, and I find that I just don't experience the city in the way I think I should. Years ago, the city was my favorite little stomping ground. I had favorite little shops and restaurants in every neighborhood. Time to get that back.
    

Get fit.

Sure, getting into shape is probably on everyone's list, but I take the cake (perfect metaphor) on this failed resolution. I actually spent most of 2014 getting further out of shape. Womp. They say it gets harder as you get closer to 30. I better get it together.

Blog bravely. 

Finally acting on what I wrote about here and here, I spent this "week off" from blogging to contemplate my blog's identity. While my blogging goals aren't necessarily lofty, they are ways for me to hold on to (what I consider to be) my integrity while joining the blogging community in a way that builds my platform. It seems the key is consistency, style and content. (Sidenote: why is there no 'c' synonym for 'style'?)
As I only wrote 123 posts in 2014, working out to 2.3 posts per week, I didn't hit my goal last year. My consistency needs work, so that goal of three blog posts per week will be reinstated.
As far as style is concerned, I'm comfortable with the writing style I use on TKD. Not that it's spectacular or anything (I'm quite corny, truly), but it's me and that's all I can really ask. I'll just remind myself periodically: must not be a basic b*, mustn't be a basic b*! :)
And what about content? A comment from  Lyndsey about weaving and finding a balance was the perfect advice (Thanks, Lyndsey!). I'm aiming to strike a balance between serious issues and the fun & frivolous. Not by any stretch would I want to morph into a political, advocate blog, but at the same time, I don't want a blog full of posts that only concern me and my small world. I'm certain that I'm highly unqualified to run the former, and want my world to be bigger /more than the latter. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those blog types. It's just not what I want to stand for.
And finally, although I may have succeeded partially in publicizing my blog on Twitter, I have yet to do so on Instagram, where I'm likely to get the most traffic from. Eeep! Let's see what happens this year.

Fall in love with my life. 

This didn't fully happen last year, which makes sense as it pretty much encompasses all the little resolutions (of which I only completed six). Last year, I described my life as boring, however social media influenced that description may be, and this year definitely was not that. There were quite a few exciting things that happened in 2014. So it's a step in the right direction. But I want an exciting life, not just sporadic moments.

Do you make resolutions? Tell me a few of yours in the comments below! And again, Happy New Year!

9 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! I loooove all your goals for the new year, especially your blogging goal and falling in love with your life. I think that's great and something few of us do. We act like life is just something to get through but it's more than that!

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    1. You are so right! It's an experience not a checklist. Thanks for commenting!

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  2. happy new year girlfriend. i wish you all the best in your goals, i have no doubt you'll succeed in them all :) cause you're awesome, duh.

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  3. Love this post! I always use to say my new year resolution is not to make one. So that I can live up to my expectations. I know, not very ambitious. However, I do have a lot of plans for myself this year. I guess that's really all a resolution is, a plan. I like the idea of being on time for everything, I need to plan to that. I want to take a yoga class and strip dance class for exercise because I really do can't do the gym. I like your idea about experiencing NYC. I lived in Brooklyn all my life and when I moved to Orange County NY I miss so many things about Brooklyn I said that I would go back and do some fun stuff and write about it. It's a great idea, I just have to make the two hour trip.

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    1. I'd definitely say plans are like resolutions, which is a good thing. Those classes sound lik a lot of fun, I hope you end up doing it! Living in the city, it's so easy to take it all for granted but it really is such an amazing city worth experiencing, isn't it?

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  4. Happy New Year!! Those definitely seem like some great resolutions!! This year one of my goals is to make more time for myself and my husband by learning how to say "No" to people. Our schedule is always so jam-packed that we never seem to have time for just "us". So far I am failing miserably at this goal as we have stuff going on with others like every weekend until March... but after that I swear I am going to work on saying "No" and not overextending us!

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  5. Hi Kari!! I'm so so so glad you were able to accomplish 'calling yourself a writer.' I remember we found each others blogs at a time when both you and I were struggling with our identity as writers and professionals. Am I a mental health counselor and writer? Am I a writer and counselor? Does one go before the other? It makes me so happy that you figured it all out and that you can truly identify as a writer. NaNoWriMo is so impressive. Maybe that'll be on my list of goals one year. I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you blog-wise and writing-wise. All wonderful things, I'm sure. I do hope you get to enjoy the city a bit more. I used to go into the city frequently when I was younger (I'm an hour train ride from NJ), but I've been going less and less the older I get. Maybe I'll make it a point myself to get in there more and experience that culture again.

    Happy New Year! All the best.

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    1. Thanks for coming around the blog again! We missed you here. And of course by 'we' I mean me :) I hope you are no longer struggling with your writing identity. You're a wonderful writer. You should definitely do NaNo - it's worth ever tear!
      I'm so glad to have someone like you rooting for me! It's really nice to know that you've seen this little place grow since day one :) And I hope you make it into the city more often. It truly is magical, isn't it?
      Happy, happy, happy New Year!

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  6. Love this soon much! And I'd say definitely to the immersion into writing :)

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