Resolutionary

December 31st has always been different for me in the last decade or so of my life. There were times that I partied with all my friends, times when I went out, times that I stayed home, times that I actually stayed up the whole time, times that I didn't care as much and just woke up in the following year… Even this year, I'm still not 100% what I'm going to do. A consistency, though, has been making "New Year's Resolutions." Goals or desires for the upcoming year that are hoped to be achieved one way or another – either by hard work and dedication to them, or by hoping for some miracle to happen. Almost everyone I know makes them every year, which I think is admirable; however, a problem that I've had for myself is that once I make them and even write them down somewhere, I tend to lose track of where they are despite my planning ahead of an "unforgettable" place.

SO. This time it's gonna be here. Online, for the whole dang world to see, in a place that I absolutely know I can't forget. And making them public for everyone to see is all right with me, because depending on the resolution I could have people help motivate or remind me to get them done. (For however many of you actually end up reading all of my posts, that is.)

In no particular order, here they are, Buzzfeed style:

1. Exercise a little every day, even if it means taking a walk for 30 minutes on a treadmill. I can't tell you how many days I've thought about exercising and haven't done a dang thing about it. It's my health that's at stake, and I've done relatively little about it these last couple years. Thankfully there are some fun ways to exercise that I've utilized in the past, such as games like Just Dance, so hopefully I can use those as my motivators in the future.

I've got access to a small workout room 24/7, which also leaves me with no excuse to not do anything.

2. Unless I'm specifically out with friends, stop eating so much late at night. On a similar note about my health, I eat a lot. And that's most likely not going to change. But one thing I can change is when I eat, because everything I've ever heard about trying to lose weight says that you shouldn't eat late at night, especially right before going to bed. Sometimes before I go to bed (because there are many nights that I'm up late for no apparent reason) I eat a snack or something just because I'm bored. Not that good. So, I'm going to change that habit and say, for now, that 9:00 PM will be my cutoff time for eating. That's a couple hours before I usually go to bed, so it seems reasonable to me; the time is subject to change if it seems necessary, but the overall goal will be this one.

3. Read at least one new book a month. I have read very little over the last year, which is a sad, sad comparison to when I was a child. I used to devour books left and right, having learned how to read at such a young age, but these days the most I read is an online article or two a day. If that. So while I don't necessarily plan on going out and buying new books, I'll take advantage of the resources I have around me (local libraries, books already on my bookshelf that I have yet to tackle, suggestions from friends/family members, etc.) and start getting back into a habit I once had daily.

4. Start up a media production of some kind. I've been meaning to make a series on YouTube for a while now, and while I have a couple ideas for it, I just need to kick myself in the rear and get going on it. Or a podcast with some friends. Just… something. I'd like to get my name out there somehow, and before the opportunity passes me by.

5. Do my best to enter into a relationship that is leading towards marriage. As superficial as that may initially sound, I've already discussed a couple times on here the issues I have with trying to date around here in Provo. Yet obviously not everyone has the same issues that I do, since marriages still keep happening around here… eh, I won't bother going into one of my rants about it in this post.
I'm choosing the wording on this specifically because this is a goal that obviously requires someone else. I can't just force someone to start a relationship with me. Obviously. If, for some reason, I'm still single by the end of 2014, I don't want to look back and see that I didn't put forth my best effort in this regard.

6. Write at least one blog post per week. This one shouldn't be too hard, but then I kind of had the intent to do this when I started this blog up… I just need to find a specific time/day every week to do it. Plan to do just that, nothing else. Sometimes the internet just gets so distracting, though...

7. Watch the movies in my library that I haven't seen yet. I keep adding to it, based on good deals that I find or recommendations from others, so I get them and watch them, but it leaves a lot that I've yet to see still…

8. Go to a convention of some sort. This year marked the first Salt Lake ComicCon, and two of my roommates and my brother got to go, thoroughly enjoying it. I experienced it vicariously, and while listening to their stories and seeing all of their pictures were great, it only made me want to do something like that myself even more. There are a few conventions that I have in mind that I'd love to attend, so I'll be saving up my pennies and figuring out what to do this year, most likely during the summer.

I know this isn't really related to conventions, but it's been a goal of mine to go to one for a while now… One that I'd treat like an achievement, if you will.

9. Be more outgoing. I'm not a total introvert, nor a social butterfly. But I do feel like I could be more sociable, more friendly towards others, more open. There are definitely times that, while I don't have a full understanding of why, I just feel the need to close up and not be around anyone. And often times I hate it. So while I don't plan on being a party animal by any means, I definitely want to get out more.

10. Be happy with myself. I don't hate myself by any means, but there's a lot that I feel I can still improve and accept. And I know there are multiple ways to do this. I feel like all of the things on here will help to do that in some fashion, but I know that other things that I'll try to find daily will contribute to it as well.

So there you have it. My resolutions for 2014. Somewhere that I won't lose them, and will constantly have the opportunity to look back on.

No new movies for my collection, but I did see Saving Mr. Banks on Christmas. Highly recommend it.