The new year is well underway, and I am nostalgic for this time last year. It was truly a good time in my life.
I’ve thought long and hard about my New Year’s Resolutions for 2011, and I think I’ve come up with a few that are attainable and worthwhile.
Of course, before I can get into those, I believe it is good to look back at last year’s goals and see how I did, so here is a brief look at my 2010 Resolutions, with my notes on how it went:
- Grow Asterisks Magazine: I didn’t grow my fledgling magazine. In fact, I had to kill it. I simply couldn’t afford to keep publishing it out of my own pocket. Here is a blog post about the end of Asterisks Magazine.
- Write A Novel: This one may have seemed unattainable, but guess what, I did it. And it is getting published soon! That’s all the details I’m going to share here for now. This news deserves a blog post of its own, which I will be posting in the coming days. 🙂
- Further My Career: I am doing just that. I am enrolled in a master’s degree program at Fort Hays State University and I’m teaching journalism to high school students. My students are doing well, winning awards on more than one occasion already this school year.
- Continue Blogging: I don’t feel good about my performance here. I haven’t been posting as regularly on The Voice, and I don’t use The Bobcat Nation at all. Why? Well, I was told to stop using The Bobcat Nation and I was reprimanded for The Voice, so my passion for blogging has fizzled a little.
- Streamline My Efforts: Well, I have tried to do this, but I keep getting roped into doing more things at my current job. So I don’t know how to score myself on this. I like to think I’ve got a better handle on everything and am managing all the things I do a bit better, but I wouldn’t say much has been streamlined.
- Read Books: I did this one! I read quite a bit, and I kept track of those books I completed on the “Reading List” tab of this website. Check it out! I’ve read some good books, except for “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. That one sucked. I don’t know how it won a Pulitzer.
- Be Physically Active: I plead The Fifth. Although I do think I’ve lost some weight. It was difficult to workout or play golf because I had yet another shoulder surgery in 2010. That threw a huge wrench into things.
- Spend More Time With Family And Friends: I did this. Family and friends are the most important things in my life. This was one of the easier resolutions to keep.
- Let The List Grow: I don’t think the list grew, but that’s OK. It didn’t need to really.
- Be Righteous: The point of this one was to get things done and do so with all the effort and integrity I have. Sure, I might not have gotten everything done, but I would like to think I was righteous in the way I accomplished what I did.
So, what are my resolutions for 2011? Well, as I pondered that question, I decided doing a “top 10” list wasn’t going to work this year, and I realized a few of them would be rather vague, which is the only way I can safely describe them. I am going to number them, but they won’t be in any order and when I’m done, I’m done. I’m not going to come up with enough to simply reach a given number.
New Year’s Resolutions for 2011
I feel last year I wanted to try to do much, so this year I’m going to streamline my efforts . . . which ironically was one of my resolutions for last year . . . and try to accomplish a few bigger things instead of a bunch of small things.
1. Learn To Play The Guitar
OK. So this one may be a smaller thing, but it is something I have wanted to do since I was younger than 10 because of my love for Elvis Presley. I tried taking lessons a few years ago, but then I moved to western Kansas. Well, for Christmas, my parents got me a couple of books that are supposed to teach you to play guitar. I’m going to use them and do my best to learn. After all, I’ve already got the hip gyrations of Elvis down. All that’s left to master is the guitar playing . . . oh, and the singing. I’ll just focus on the guitar first.
2.Write Another Novel
Again, I’m not going to give too much detail because I want to save it for a monster post of its own, but I have written a novel and am getting it published. I have since begun work on two more. We’ll see which one ends up becoming my focus and getting completed first.
3. Continuing Ed
I’m going to continue working on my master’s degree as I continue to teach. I have found I truly enjoy teaching. I love working with the students and seeing them succeed. It’s a wonderful feeling. Of course, right now I can only teach journalism, so I am also going to work on getting endorsements in other subject areas. I haven’t decided which ones exactly, but I have narrowed it down to my top choices, which include Speech, English and Physical Education, among others. I am hoping this will help me further my career as an educator.
4. Keep Reading
I am going to keep reading. I love books. They allow me to transport myself to a whole new place and time. Furthermore, I am going to keep logging the books I have read on the “Reading List” tab of this website. Also, I may begin using http://www.goodreads.com, which was recommended to me by friend and fellow teacher Martin Faint.
5. Create Better, Happier Life
This is my biggest resolution of the list, I think.
See, I have been feeling less than satisfied with my current state of life. I don’t want to get into specifics, but I just feel that change is becoming increasingly necessary.
It has nothing to do with my family and friends, but it does have everything to do with what I do on a daily basis.
I used to be on fire for things, but now it feels my flame is flickering dangerously. I worry I will lose the flame altogether, and I don’t want that to happen.
For 2011, I am vowing to reignite that flame in whatever fashion I can, even if it means a drastic change of direction for me. I don’t want it to come down to that, but I also don’t want to continue to dread my day-t0-day grind.
I used to always have a positive outlook and always try to do my best. Often I would volunteer to help out and go above and beyond what was expected of me. That has all changed, though. Now things that used to bring me enjoyment seem to be nothing more than acts of futility. I’m tired of feeling like I’m just spinning my wheels and biding my time. I want to move forward and feel like I’m advancing myself.
I want to be the old me again, and that’s just what I’m going to do. I just don’t know how I’m going to accomplish it just yet.
6. Keep Organized
Of course, for any of my resolutions to work, I need to keep a better handle on my schedule and where I keep things. I need to stay organized and manage my time better. I need to make sure I keep track of what I have to do and when it needs to be completed by.
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Well, that’s it. Those are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2011. Is it a long list? No. Is it vague? Yes. Is it kind of weak? Well, that just depends.
I like my list. Sure, there are other things I could have put on here, but I tried to pick the things that would be best for me to focus on. Ironically, nearly all of them revolve around No. 5.
I wish I could be more specific about some of these things, but I can’t right now. Rest assured, though, I will explain everything in due time.
Until then, I appreciate your patronage of this site. Like I said earlier, I haven’t been able to post very often lately due to a myriad of reasons, but please keep reading. I WILL keep blogging. Some how. Some way.
