Things Can Only Get Better

It's a new year, and unfortunately, I too enter a new phase of my life, brought on partly because, well it is in fact the new year. Now, I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but this holiday season provided the perfect storm for me to integrate into my life some change. I'm a pretty relaxed person and am not usual one of those go-go-go people with my foot on the gas when it comes to goals. Granted, I do have goals, just I'm more relaxed about them. I also realize that it is the 24th of January and I'm just starting to talk about my resolutions, but I have actually been pretty successful in keeping to them. 

There are three main resolutions that I have made for myself. In the most sweeping generalization I can make, there is a lot going on in the world today. There are protests, famines, wars, and just general political unrest taking place all over the world. A lot of this is unknown to many of the average Americans, (including myself.) There is a lot of information out there to be consumed and to keep track of; however, it is important to at least be aware of this, and that is one of my resolutions for this new year. I plan to get into a routine where I follow the world news more closely. I have studied and work in a foreign country, and it is important to note what is happening somewhere else. So, although I'm just now writing about it, I've decided to maximize the mass amount of free-time that my job allows, and I have been listening and reading to NPR online just about everyday. It is one of the most unbiased and interesting news sources that I've found. I'm not particularly privy to all the left or right leaning news sources. They are ridiculously biased, so much so that I can't take what they saying seriously. I would also consider CNN a reliable source, although there is a large difference between CNN and CNN International. So, that is something to be aware of.

Another resolution I've made is reading. I'm just trying to read more in general. I really love to read, and books are a wonderful and enriching experience. They help improve your memory, creativity, and intelligence, like giving your mind a workout so that you don't become a mindless pawn. Recently, I have looked forward to reading more and more. I never used to be a big reader. In grade school, I remember we had this computerized testing system that had quizzes over certain books, and we students were supposed to read a certain amount of the books per year and take the quizzes. I always tried to find a way around doing them, or I would just plain do poorly on them. However, since beginning college, I have personally discovered how much I truly enjoy reading. So now that I have an excess of free time, I plan on reading as many books as I possibly can, hopefully actual books, not online. You can't beat the feel of the pages on your fingers and that musty, old-book smell. 

Another minor goal is to listen to more music. I love music, and I love discovering new music. It is a little difficult in France because Pandora does not work over hear, copy-right restrictions and all. So I've been relying heavily on Youtube, but that really hasn't helped expand selection. I also use NPR (naturally) to give me some good selections. One of the groups NPR has exposed me two, just recently actually, is called First Aid Kit. It consists of two Swedish sisters, Klara and Johanna Soderberg, who began recording there own folk-style music on their cellphones. I'm listening to them as I write this, and I highly recommend them. My favorite track is called "Emmylou," from their new album The Lion's Roar. So please have a listen.

Probably my biggest resolution is writing, writing, writing. Because I do consider myself a writer, I have been trying to be more disciplined about writing. I heard a story about a writer on NPR, she had landed a big contract because she had published her own content online. She said she had spoken to this musician who told her that "It's not enough to have a passion, you have to have a work ethic." This is probably the best advice I've heard about writing--about any passion that one may have. So that is what I am trying to do, to get into a routine with everything in my life, to develop my work ethic, to write everyday, whether in my newly created blog here, or writing fiction. Time drags on when I'm bored, I start thinking unpleasant thoughts; I start thinking about how much I miss my family and how much I miss my friends. That is what this year is going to be all about. Intellectual and emotional self-improvement. And, I've got a long road ahead. So here goes, bring it 2012.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."