A Last Hurrah for 2010

For the past few weeks I've been so wrapped up in Christmas and family and work that I never gave a second thought for the ending year. I suddenly realized that today is the VERY last day of 2010 and I was surprised at how much I'm going to miss this year. 2010 was good to me. I reconnected with friends, graduated from college, got a job in my major (that I really, REALLY like in case I haven't said that enough), saw great movies like Tangled, Megamind and Miss Potter. Some of my new favorite books were discovered in 2010 like The Bonesetter's Daughter, Eat Pray Love, The Percy Jackson books, Clockwork Angel and Cross My Heart (which I got to edit). I discovered some new favorite artists like A Fine Frenzy and Ingrid Michaelson while re-discovering old favorites like Stephanie Mabey.
I met some great goals I set for myself and since I already talked about them in past blog posts I won't bore you with the details again. All in all, 2010 was a really good year for me and I will miss it. Of course, not all of it was pink sparkles and rainbows, but for the most part it got me where I was headed.
Now that the question of graduation and jobs is finished and done with, it's time to do some fun things. I actually get to stay at my job longer than the 4 months between semesters which means I can start saving my money for trips and such. (ITALY THIS FALL!!!!!!), I am planning on moving out of my house and into a place of my own, I'm currently looking for a car, and of course another couple of 5K's are in order. (The running kind, not the money kind, although that certainly would take care of me for a while.)I'm a firm believer in having some sort of goal to work towards. If you aren't looking forward to anything then your days just all sort of blur together and it's hard to get up everyday.
I know that making resolutions at New Year's is traditional, but why limit yourself to just one day? There are countless opportunities during the rest of the 364 days to make a goal for yourself. It doesn't have to be grand or outrageous like mastering the art of french cooking. Pick one or two fancy recipes and make something spectacular. I think we get so caught up in the hype and if we fail then we feel like we have to wait until the next New Year's Day to make another goal. Challenge yourself this year and make goals throughout the year. If you fail: DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! Look at your goal, really decide if it's realistic and then adjust it accordingly. Many of us (myself DEFINITELY included) think that if we fail then that's it and we shouldn't try again. WRONG! Keep trying! The harder you work at something the sweeter your final victory. If you have to start over multiple times in order to meet your personal goal then DO IT! It shows that you really want something enough to pursue it. I believe that you bow to true defeat only when you give up. So keep trying, no matter what happens. If you only make the resolution and expect it to happen all by yourself you'll be sadly disappointed at the end of the year. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Miss Tick in closing, "If you trust in yourself and believe in your dreams and follow your star you’ll still be beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy. Goodbye."