Same Old Lang Syne

I'm not the sort of person who makes New Year's resolutions.  For one, I think New Year's Eve/Day is a silly holiday meant only to mark the arbitrary passing of time with copious amounts of alcohol and bad decisions.  Second, I believe that resolutions are merely goals which can, and should, be made and followed at any point through out the year.  In fact, I find that I am more likely to stick to my guns when I set resolutions at times that are appropriate for myself rather than designated by societal pressures.  That being said, I have reached yet another point in my life where I feel a distinct need to redefine my priorities and set new goals for my future.

After years of hard work and months of anticipation, I have officially been accepted to the social psychology PhD program at Portland State University!  This achievement was in no small part a direct result of support from many people, to whom I owe a great deal of respect and gratitude.  And it is for them, myself, my family, and my friends that I have an intense desire and need to excel in both my field of study and my life over the next four to five years.  As such, I have developed the following goals (in no specific order):

1. Exercise more often: This may seem like a pretty typical resolution, but, aside from my daily .5 mile sprint to the bus stop, I have been extremely lax (stop laughing, Christopher) in my exercise routine over the past two years.  To say that I never have the time would be something of an overstatement, as my current daily de-stress program involves watching reruns of guilty-pleasure TV shows. PSU has a fantastic gym that I haven't even stepped foot in yet, and that is going to change.  At the very least, I need to devote one hour per day toward physical activity to clear my head and help me stay focused.  I know I can do it, too.  When Chris first got together I was literally 20 pounds lighter and spent hours each day doing resistance training and cardio, and I felt fantastic!  That's not to say that my ultimate goal is to lose weight.  I mean, who am I kidding?  I was also 24 when he and I met, and genetics and time are no longer on my side.  I mostly just want to maintain and/or improve my health and well-being.
2. Read at least one book per month that has nothing to do with school: This resolution is tricky, but necessary.  As it currently stands, I've only read one book in the last six months that had nothing to do with psychology, and even it was an assignment for another class.  I need to stretch out my mind, give myself a break from technical reading/writing, and allow myself to become consumed in literature again.  Obviously, part of this resolution (well, all of them really) comes down to cutting some "me" time into my days, and not allowing myself to maintain my current routine of school-work-Chris-TV-sleep.
3. Call friends and family more often: As I become immersed in school work, I have a severe tendency to put my loved ones on the back-burner.  I'm sure I'm not alone in this trend, not that that excuses the behavior.  I allow calling people to become prioritized as a chore instead of a necessary break.  I'll admit it, I sometimes avoid phone calls just because I either 1) don't have time to talk, or 2) don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to say.  This behavior must stop!  As Lori would so eloquently put it, I need to stop putting myself into a self-imposed 'dark place.' People need people, and I have to start letting myself require human interaction. I'm positive that over the next few years I will have to lean on my family and friends more heavily than ever for support.
4. Let my hair grow long:  You may be thinking, "why in the heck is this a resolution?"  Well, the answer is simple.  I look and feel better when my hair is long, but I have total crap patience.  At every point between chin-length and just-below-the-shoulders my hair is going through some sort of awkward phase.  It is usually at one of these lengths that I lose my cool and chop it off again. As such, I have made a pact with myself: I will not cut the length of my hair until I finish my Master's degree in two years time.  Until then I can trim the layers and bangs, but I have to let it continuously grow.  Don't worry, with the speed at which my hair actually develops, it'll probably only be to the base of my shoulder blades by then and I'm sure it will look fabulous!
5. Write down at least one good and one mediocre idea per day: I realized when I began this course of study two years ago that I was continuously inspired by psychology.  Over that time, I have had hundreds of ideas for research, experiments, and studies. Unfortunately, I've only taken the time to write down and develop five or six of them.  This resolution, essentially, is a two parter.  Part one involved buying a small notebook that I can keep as sort of an "idea diary." Subsequently, part two is carrying said notebook with me everywhere and writing down every idea I have, whether it be for a research proposal, blog entry, outfit, new goal, or grocery list.  I need to start treating every idea as if it's gold, because even if I think they're total crap now, in two, five, or even ten years time I may look back and decide that one of them is worth pursuing.  I have seen the way that the intense environment of grad school can leave students feeling drained and unmotivated, and I am enthusiastically committed to not allowing that to happen to me. 

Honestly, looking at this list now I have to admit that it is not at all the direction I thought I would go with it (I've sort of been free-writing this whole time).  I thought that I was going to produce goals that involved studying hard and living up to my potential.  That being said, I'm really happy with what I've produced here.  Clearly my mind and body know what I need to succeed over the next important chunk of my life, which is good because I need every part of me working hard to get through this.  Doing well in grad school is obviously an important goal of mine, but I am looking way past that now.  I need to succeed there so that when I'm out I can get a great job that allows us to climb out of debt so that we can finally start a family of our own.  I am so ready for this!