Happy New Year!

With the new year's beginning, resolutions abound. Lose weight, eat healthy, spend less, smile more--people have all sorts of things they want to start doing after the ball drops. Me? I've always been a resolution kind of person, but not just when the new year starts. I'm the type of person to take up some new endeavor anytime. Take when I first started running, it kind of just became a goal I was going to accomplish no matter what. My brother said he wasn't surprised when I finished my first race because he said I always do what I set out to do. So this New Year, as I put 2011 and all of my accomplishments of the year in my rear view and start looking toward 2012, what do I hope for myself?

At the end of 2011 I was part of a Holiday Challenge to stay healthy during the holidays rather than gaining weight. I started off strong, but lost my footing part of the way. I'm back in the right direction now, but not quite where I want to be. To that end, I have joined another challenge, this time with a specific plan in place. I'm excited to break the plateau I've been on and get my body exactly where I've always wanted it. I also want to run another half marathon and hopefully more races in general. I love the feeling I get from running, but have found it difficult to maintain with grad school. With any luck I'm going to find a way to balance my time a bit better this semester.

I've also finally transported my guitar to Boston. I got it not long before starting college and never really got to devote time to learning to play it. While Joe and I were in NC for the holidays, I bought a hard guitar case and brought it back with me. I've already learned more in the past week than I did the rest of the time I've owned the guitar, so I'm very excited (and my fingers are very sore) for what's to come in that endeavor.

Most of all though, I'm excited to continue in this wonderful life with Joe. As I look back through photos of the last year, I can see the change in my face (and my smile) when I met Joe. The only regret I have about 2011 is that I had to go through almost three months of the year without knowing him. Yes, that's cheesy and disgustingly mushy. Don't worry, I'm gagging a little myself. The point is that even the not so great times were great because they were with him and I've learned a ton about myself this year thanks to having him by my side to cheer me on. I know that 2012 is going to be an even better year for the two of us and I look forward to even more years to come.

No matter what your resolutions might be, just be sure you're making them for the right reasons. Mine are about allowing myself to really embrace what makes me happy and the best I can be at whatever I do. Living healthier, pursuing my dreams, relishing the love I have in my life. Those are my resolutions, not just for the new year, but for the rest of my life.

Happy 2012!