New Year, New Decade, Now What?

Welcome (back) to my blog dear reader! I am so glad you are here. 😄 I hope you enjoy your time here.

How is it already 2020? I feel like I just graduated high school but then I stop to think and realize that was almost 9 years ago. Oof. But anyway, enough about my existential crisis about getting old. I might write on that later in the year. (My birthday is in April. Hint hint.) Moving on. VIVA LA RESOLUTIONS! I wrote about them in my first ever blog post. And I did okay accomplishing them. This year I am way more motivated to get things done. Also, I decided it was time that I used my stubborn side for good this time. First things first, I had to make a plan.

So what is my plan? I have a few different categories of things I am challenging myself to complete this year. And I am gonna be upfront with you dear reader, I am not going to say everything I am doing because some stuff is kinda private. The categories are: physical, financial, professional, spiritual, and other.

In the physical category, I decided that I need to get outside more. So, I am going for walks, sometimes with my dog, Bandit. I want to see how close I can get to my personal record of 8:26 to run a mile. I am nowhere near the age or fitness level I was when I set that goal so the walks and running will help me get close. This coming weekend is going to be mostly clear and not too cold so I am setting my baseline. By July, I want to see how much time I can shave off that baseline. The second big thing I am doing in this category is avoiding my food sensitivities. (I tried this last year with limited success.) They are not quite allergies but they definitely are not fun. I do not know why I put myself through it. My mom and I have made a better plan than last year so I can feel better while still getting the nutritional values I need every day.

In the financial category, I had to put on my thinking cap (for the math) and my big girl pants to get this done myself (Dad double-checked it, ‘cause math, but I did it!) So, number one goal is to pay off ¼ of my student loans by December. It may be higher than that at the end of the year depending on my employment situation for the second half of the year. I am making a budget for a new car. My 2001 Honda Accord is a valiant warrior but the armor is looking rough. The biggest thing that will help both of these goals get accomplished is paying my bills and filling out my expenses for my monthly budget before I do anything else: Eating out, getting a new phone, etc. Lord, give me strength.

Now on the professional category, which is kinda the same thing, I have goals that work together with the previous category. First of all, the one job I am currently doing will be finished in May. So I need to find a full-time teaching job local or otherwise. There are several schools that are advertising openings so I just need to take a few hours a night to do an application or two. (Not kidding, teacher applications are gigantic.) As far as the “otherwise” in the location of the jobs goes, I am open to just about anywhere. Working locally would make loans easier since I could still live at home. But moving somewhere new sounds like an awesome adventure. The other big thing I am doing this year, or at least starting to do is to research master's degrees. I have 2 bachelor's degrees already and I would love to get a master's for both of them. But what would that entail? What schools are the best? How much would it cost? Could I do both at once? So many questions to answer and I intend to answer them this year.

Now for my favorite category. The spiritual part of my life and my challenges to incorporate this year and then forever. Number one, 30 minutes of prayer a day with 10 in total silence. Number two, daily Rosary. Number 3 is taking the time for an hour of Adoration every week. And finally, at least for now, going to monthly Confession. The goal by summer is to go weekly. I am so excited about these goals and I am loving doing them already.

The final category, since I could not think of another name for it, is the “other” category. The main goal for this one is to learn to play my grandmother’s acoustic guitar. My dad’s mom died five years ago and my family inherited, among other things, her guitar. Since I was not particularly close to her as I got older, compared to how close we were when I was a kid, I would love to use an instrument that she loved to make music with it again. Maybe in some way, I can feel that closeness again.

So there you have it, dear reader. My 2020 Resolutions, challenges, improvements, whatever you want to call them. They are the things I am going to do this year to find new places where there is some beauty in the crazy.☀️💙