Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Resolutions! 2012

So I controlled my egocentrism enough to avoid blogging like, at all, this past semester. Giving those college kids a good impression of myself wink wink. But a new year is here, and it must be greeted with some introspection. Also, I need to learn how to write again before classes start next week...

There's something strangely relieving about getting to the end of each year. It means that somehow, by the grace of God or your chosen school of thought on fate/religion/etc., we survived another year without being killed by economic failure, terrorists, car accidents, wild bears, family members, cancer, obesity, lightning, or falling while putting up Christmas lights. Perhaps that's why I enjoy making New Years' resolutions, to add more things to the list of 'what I survived.' Because, whenever you do anything out of the ordinary, be it sky-diving or taking another route to work, you could die. (fyi...Whenever you do anything in the ordinary, you could die too!) Last year, I kept a few of my resolutions, most importantly fooling lots of people into thinking I'm a natural redhead and attempting vegetarianism halfheartedly till July, when I ate my last hamburger and swore off meat until the industry resurrected its humanity. Let's hope that this year encounters the same [relative] success.

So, drink a toast to survival while ridiculing my goals for the upcoming year! And, take it with a few grains of salt...

1. Go vegan for a month (or longer!): I've been a flexitarian for a year now, and a real vegetarian for a good six months (depending on whether you count Taco Bell "chicken" as breaking that or not). It began as a contest, and transformed into something much more meaningful: health, animal rights, environmentalism, protesting additives in food, etc. Please, please, if you think I'm crazy, or if you want a reason to become vegetarian, read Jonathan Safran Foer's book "Eating Animals." His other novels are quite good as well: "Everything is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" have both been made into movies. So, veganism is simply the next step. It will be difficult giving up milk and eggs and cheese (my cravings for brie will have to stop), but I see it as the most rewarding thing on this list, requiring extreme self-control and bearing through the criticism and ridicule of ignorant meat-eaters (take no offense, pretty please. Just because you contribute to a depraved society doesn't mean I don't love you...) It also means regulating clothes, accessories, cosmetic products, chapstick (can I afford enough vegan chapstick to last even a month?!), etc...

2. Go hiking in the woods (reminiscent of Bill Bryson!): Oh, the adventurous gene! I've never really done anything extremely risky, unless eating extreme amounts of chocolate counts. Thus, this longing to go lose myself in the wilderness for a week or two or more is uncharacteristic, but, with my strives to naturalize myself, it's a necessity to see what exactly I'd like to preserve...

3. Knit a sweater: I've picked up knitting a bit again, but haven't gone much farther than the basic knit-purl hat and scarf. But, with a bit of perseverance, and a good recipe to follow, a sweater might just be waiting under the Christmas tree for all you folks next year :P

4. Learn the clarinet again: So I got a clarinet over the summer, and have yet to do much other than look at it and remember which keys play which note. But, if I'm keeping up with this studying music thing, I need to learn something other than piano and vocal exercises. I need to be a Renaissance musician! Learn a bunch of different instruments and when I see, like, a lute at some person's house, I'll be able to say, "Oh hey, I can play that with so much badassery." And they'll be like, "Oh hey, you're a badass. Let me give you a job and lots of money and a free plane ticket to Australia." And I'll be set for life, just because I know how to play obscure instruments. But first, the clarinet...

5. Be nice: Okayy, so I get criticized for being a bit bitchy, a bit whiny from time to time...I can't help my natural wittiness, but I guess I could try to appreciate yours a bit more. Tell me to shut up when needed.

6. Give up soda: Coke, Pepsi, such easy caffeine fixes! But so bad for me :( On this pursuit of environmental awareness, pop will have to go by the wayside. Coffee and tea only from now on. And ginger ale on plane rides. The great carbonation god will have to forgive me.

7. Write something forrealz: So Nanowrimo was a failure. 750 words the first day, and I 'ran out of time' before I could get anything down on my lonely word document. Sigh. But this year, perhaps I can convince myself to write more by dreaming of instant fame and money enough to go on an African safari. I mean, who wouldn't want to pay money for and read something written by yours truly? ;)

8. Figure out whom to vote for: Yeah, voting's important. But when every candidate is a total prick, the decision to choose the best of the bad is quite difficult. Vote for major party candidate and support the corruption of the government? Or throw away a vote on a third party that has no chance of winning and rather idealist views that probz wouldn't work even if the candidate were to be elected? Well, eleven months to decide that. Or everyone could just vote for me...

9. Travel a bit: Where to? You tell me. Keep in mind my college kid budget, though, if you please. Free trips preferred.

10. Figure out my lyfe: Major? Career? Study abroad? Adventurer? Grad student? Career goals? Or career by chance? Or career at all? Pursue passions? What passions? Pursue reliable field? What field is reliable? Study more? Or have more fun? GPA, or experience? Woahh. WOAHH. Lyfe is too complicated, maybe I'll marry a rich man and sit and read and knit and own cats. Foreverrrrr.

Happy/Blessed/Illuminating New Year, my loves!!!

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