12/31: New Years Resolutions and a Quarter Life Crisis

With the end of another year drawing to a close (as I'm writing this it's 2 hours and 16 minutes until the clock hits midnight), it's that time again to make some resolutions for the new year. You know. The promises you make to yourself that you WILL go to the gym. You WILL cut down on sugary drinks and sweet foods. You WILL make an effort to keep in touch with friends and family. You will NOT spend so much money on nail polish and shoes. I think that last one might just be me, but you get the picture. Here's what I'm aiming to do for 2013:

1. Write. Whether it's blogging more, or revisiting an old NaNoWriMo piece, or starting a new short story, I need to make myself write more. I tend to forget what a release of negative energy it can be for me and there are some days I could really benefit from focusing the negativity into something productive.
2. Read. I used to challenge myself to read 50 books in a year. This year I've read 7 books. Which is completely unacceptable. I may not be able to make it to the 50 mark, but I can at least try to aim for 20-25 I think. I have 2 bookshelves that are packed full and I've probably only read about half of the books I own.
3. Take care of myself. Not just physically, but emotionally too. I spend too much time worrying about other people and things that I have no control over. That's not to say that I need to stop caring about other people, but that I need to start putting my own mental health over situations that I can't do anything about.
4. Get back into playing music. I've barley touched my keyboard this year, and my guitar has been sitting in the corner of my room collecting dust for god knows how long. I want to be able to say again that "yes, I do play piano" and "yes, I do play guitar." Not just "yeah I own a keyboard and a guitar, but I don't do much with them."
5. Go to more concerts. That's pretty self explanatory, but I've missed so many shows this year that I wanted to see because I didn't have anyone to go with and that's not a good enough excuse anymore.
6. Move out of my house. This one is more of a goal than a resolution because it's going to take a lot of financial effort to make it happen rather than just say "hey I want to do this" and bam it's done. But I think I'd be in much better situation if I can make that work.

I think that'll do it for me. Of course there's the standard "eat less fast food" and "drink less soda" and of course "work out more" but I'm at a point with those so-called resolutions that I've never held to them and I don't see any point in starting to now.

As for the Quarter Life Crisis? I'm just chugging along trying to work through that as best as I can while still keeping my sanity and liver in check. Some days are better than others and some days I'm thankful I can make it through the day without kicking a small child in the head. So. There's that.

See you in 2013!