In less than two hours I will be 25 years old. One quarter of a century. Where does the time go?! Right about now I'm reminded of #11 on my Secrets of Happiness Commandments: The days are long, but the years are short.
Instead of freaking out (well I might be just a little bit!) I'm reminding myself to enjoy every moment, because honestly life is just getting better! 2011 has been pretty freaking fantastic so far and I'm committed to making my 25th year as amazing as possible! So here we go folks! What you have been waiting for!!!! 41 days into the new year I am finally unveiling my resolutions. Not to worry though! I haven't been wasting those precious days! The resolutions have been in full effect since January one!
#1: Give more
I want to do more to make the people I love feel special. I want to make the community I live in a better place. I want the world to be a better place because I was on it. So how do I do that?! I think it starts with the little things... Sending cards to friends who live far away, going out of my way to help someone in need, volunteering in my community, recycling, composting, living green, but most of all being conscious of my affect on those around me.
#2: Read with meaning
Last year I read A LOT! So much. Some books were good... some where not so good. I wasn't very picky and I often wouldn't pick up a promising looking book because of how many pages it had or how difficult it looked to read. This year my goal is a bit different, I'm choosing quality over quantity! I'm not setting a number as a goal, I want to enjoy what I read and not force it. I'm not saying all my books with be high brow literature, I enjoy the occasional mindless beach read, but I want to get back to a more natural relationship with books.
#3: Take more photos and learn more about photography
I'm pretty good about always having my camera on hand and I'm usually the one who is snapping the photos.... but I want to do more! I almost want to be the annoying girl who always has a lens to her eye. I'm also thinking I should take a digital photography class.
#4: Run a half-marathon
This has been a goal in the back of my mind for some time now. But it was never really a practical one until recently. Since August I've lost about 15 pounds and have begun to have a serious relationship with running. In January I decided to stop just running around and start training! I'm on week three of my training program! And I'm all signed up for a race on June 5th! 115 days to get my butt ready to run 13.1 miles! Week three and I'm feeling great! Seven months ago I couldn't even run one mile in 10 minutes now I'm running over four in under a 10 minute mile pace! There is much work to be done but I'm excited!
#5: Eat clean
I mention the weight loss. This all started back in August when my sister-in-law and I decided to join Weight Watchers. I have one thing to say about it, it works. If you do what they tell you, you can eat the food you like and loose weight. So after completely changing the way I look at food and portion sizes I've recently been inspired by 1. The Magazine Clean Eating 2. a blog by a registered dietitian. I'll probably go into more detail about why I've been inspired lately, but the gist of this resolution is basically eat real food. Good food. Try not to eat anything out of a package that has an ingredient that I can't say. And really try to make more of the food I eat.
As per usual some of the resolutions are a bit abstract and some are a little more concrete. Last year I had more success with the abstract ones, but this year I hope to keep with all of my resolutions!
Oh and here are a few Life Resolutions: Travel More, Drink more water, Be More fearless, Love the little things.
And finally, a book review:
Update Book 01: Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho
I think I've mention that I loved the Alchemist which is also by Coelho. This book was a gift from one of my oldest friends. What I loved was that it was the book she had actually read. This might not seem like a big deal to many people, but I hold books in pretty high regards and since I know how much she enjoyed this book, it made it extra special that she thought to pass it on to me. I don't know any way to describe this book without giving away the ending. I think you get about a quarter of the way through and you know what the moral of the story is going to be. For me that didn't ruin it at all. I love the way Coelho sees life and although at times he may seem preachy, I still enjoy sermon. Like the Alchemist this isn't a book for everyone.... maybe only those who are still unsure of their path?