Today marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year and I thought I would take the chance to remind myself of some goals before I mindlessly abandon them in pursuit of bad tv and an abundance of cereal.

1. Stay organized, be neat. -I have been doing so good with this; making my bed the moment I have two feet on the floor, rinsing out my oatmeal bowl before it becomes one with the bowl, keeping well organized notebooks, folding and hanging my laundry as soon as the dryer completes its cycle.
2. Socialize. - I never thought this would be a goal I would have to write down, much less aspire to achieve. However, since I transferred to a large university after earning my Associates Degree  I have had a hard time adapting and making friends. My schedule has been very hectic til now and I merely went to class, went to the library, and went to the gym all while counting down the hours until my Friday afternoon came and I could drive two hours home to spend the weekend with my boyfriend and my girlfriends. He will be deploying to Afghanistan soon and now is the time to reach out and make connections here instead of wasting hours in the car and money on gas. If not, I fear I will be miserable with nerves. To make good on this goal I have decided to become an active member in organizing class projects, participate in a fitness class, attend meetings of the various honors organizations I belong to, and put myself out there in general.
3. Fit, fit, fit. - Fitness and health has always been an important part of my life but admittedly, I become content with my natural thin frame and begin to make excuses to skip the gym or skip the weights. Twenty-three days into the new year and I have done well with logging significantly more hours in the gym in contrast to the past few months. I keep a detailed food diary, weigh my portions as well as myself daily. I have begun to push myself harder but still I find an excuse not to stick to my workout plans. Poor excuses; “It’s too cold”, “people will judge me if I slow down”,  “I forgot my Ipod”, “my headphones won’t stay put”, “I might see my ex-boyfriend”,..you name it!  I have grown tired of those excuses and I am determined to meet my full potential
4. Punctuality and Courtesy.- My mom would scold me if she found out that I  mailed a thank you note in regards to Christmas to my Grandma today. I need to make every effort to be the best version of myself and these non-malicious acts of procrastination have consequences that adversely affect others as well as myself.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record and just graze through life. I want to achieve my goals actively, driven by passion and the desire to have a rich and happy life.