Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Year in Review and What's Ahead

I can easily say that 2014 was an amazing and crazy year.  From starting on a poor note in January (that break up and hellish living situation), the year went into awesome mode.  Moving home in February was what I needed to turn things around, and even though I went back to an old job, the new faces became new friendships.  My mom got over her issues with dogs on the tiniest part, and fell in love with my pooch.  The two of them are inseparable now.  In April, I turned 25. Holy shit I'm half way to my 30s.

Sometime in the spring, I got voted in as the statistician at the place I volunteer.  Which has been a steady time commitment of inputting numbers into a computer.  Whoo.  Over the summer, I spent time with friends and worked on my book. Though I didn't finish it, the story is nearly completed.  Only 15,500 words stand between me and a completed novel.  In June, I got a new writing gig for HBO Watch and have loved giving commentary on some of my favorite tv shows and films.

In September, I got voted onto the Board of Directors at my volunteer organization and have loved this new learning experience.  I fulfilled a childhood dream of going to London in October.  My heart is still there.  Just after I got back, I got a new job which I started in November.  And December has been a whirlwind of work and volunteering.  That has been my year.  I've stuck to my resolutions from last year decently.  While my novel isn't finished and I didn't lose 10 pounds by my birthday, I did get a job more related to my field and have spent lots of time with my friends.

So here's to the past and to the future and everything in between!  With that said, here are my resolutions for the next year.  Hint: there will be some repeats from last year.  If at first you don't succeed, try try again, right?

1. Physical

I would like to be at my goal weight by the end of 2015.  That's approximately a 30 pound difference.  So I want to be half way there by July 1st.  To do this, I will be spending the entire month of January sober.  That's correct, no alcohol for the entire month of January.  If this works for me, it could go longer.  But since alcohol is such a factor for calories, this will be an important step in managing my alcohol better.  Also my mom is joining me in this so we'll be able to support each other.  We'll also be cutting our pasta intake.  Which will obviously be harder than cutting alcohol.  Seriously, pasta is so delicious.

2. Financial

With my new job came a slight pay increase (hooray).  This year I will work to save money and especially pay off my car. I'm hoping towards the end of the year I might be able to move out. But I'm not rushing it, mainly because my student loans are annoyingly present.

3. Personal

I hope to continue making time for friends and correspond with the ones that are far away.  The horrible and yet wonderful thing about life is that it just keeps going.  So much so that days and months pass by and you forget to keep up with the changes in their lives.  I'm excited to plan a summer vacation with my friend Karen. As for my novel, I'm hoping to have it finished and edited once by July 1st. I would also like to have two of my next novels plotted out.

So those are my hopes and dreams for this year. I can't wait to see what the year has ahead.