New Year, No Resolutions

Today marks the beginning of the second full week of 2014. It's about the time when New Year's Resolutions begin their downhill ride to extinction and all the letters you wrote and planned to send get stuck under "stuff" on the kitchen table. Whewee. The high of a fresh start can wear off so fast if you don't have any motivation. That's why I don't do resolutions.

I am making actual changes.

No one needs a New Year to make changes in their life. We do it all the time during the year. Whether in March, July, or November, people start up or end projects all the time. For example, the government's fiscal year starts in October and ends in September. That's not the normal calendar year. But they still make it work. And because they can make it work, you better believe I'm gonna make it work too.

Recently, I decided that besides working hard on studying more and really learning this language, I'm going to choose one new thing to learn each month. For example, this month I have chosen to learn how to solve the Rubik's cube. No reason, other than I've always wanted to learn how. Now, I have a month to do it! Next month, it will be a different thing, and the month after that . . . now you're catching on.

Another new thing I've started is 20 minutes of free time before I go to bed. Normally I'll do homework straight up until it is time to sleep. I'll procrastinate throughout the day, leaving a small amount of time at the end of the day for homework. I decided to really change that around. This school quarter is going to be really hard for me. I've advanced in all of my classes, and the ACA students are the only students here. The rest of the UAP is on summer vacation. With all of that in mind, I know I need to buckle down and pull it together. So, that's what I'm doing. The 20 minutes of my free time before bed I can use to read, draw, write, work on my Rubik's cube--whatever. And on top of all that, it's a computer-free time. So far, it has been amazing, and I'm loving it. 

Overall, yes, I'm excited to start this new year (though I don't really know where 2013 went. It all happened so fast). As I diagram sentences in Spanish and take ice cold showers to combat this ridiculous heat, I plan to better myself. No, it's not a plan, It is happening. I want to do things in life and learn about random stuff that I happen to think is interesting. I want to be happy with me and not disappointed in me. The fact that this all coincides with the beginning of a new year happens to be a convenient coincidence.