It’s been a long time since I’ve come up with concrete resolutions. Last spring, I chose to focus on two words for 2015: push and trust. Even though I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to last year (which is fine — not everything is in my control), I think I ended the year more confidently than I began it.
The biggest change? I’m a licensed driver now! Living in New York, I felt like I had so much freedom — I could hop on the bus or subway and basically go anywhere. I lost that when I moved to Philadelphia; the public transit here is not up to par, especially in the neighborhood where I live. Driving is an unfortunate necessity, and a skill I never learned. In high school, I was in two minor car accidents (one in which a driver ran a red light and hit our car in an intersection, the other in which I hit a mailbox when trying to pull into a driveway). Afterwards, I took drivers’ ed, but if anything that made more scared of driving. 2015 was the year I was finally ready to change that. I signed up for one-on-one driving lessons (not cheap, but worth it) and was ready to take the test. I was practicing on the actual morning of my drivers test when I totaled Nick’s car, literally outside the testing center. Everyone was okay, thankfully, but the car was not.
Why am I writing about this lowlight on the Internet? Well, instead of curling up in a ball and being scared to go near a car, I knew I had to start practicing again immediately. Granted, I had more issues to work on (both mental and technical — the accident happened because I didn’t break fast enough), but I knew I had to get to work. After having a learner’s permit for 9 years (that’s 2006!), I finally passed my driving test, parallel parking and all. It wasn’t easy, and I’m still learning a lot even though I drive to the subway everyday, but I had to trust my ability and push myself to actually get it done.
If learning to drive was the only thing I accomplished in 2015, I’d be happy. But other awesome stuff happened too!
- I was a bridesmaid for the first time and saw two of my best friends get married!
- I spoke on a panel about women working in media at Drexel University.
- My little brother graduated from college!
- I saw the first Triple Crown winner in decades at the Belmont Stakes.
- The women’s national team won the World Cup!
- I visited my mom in her old/new home of Medellin, Colombia.
- The Pope waved at my friends and me (and like hundreds of thousands of others).
- We adopted a second dog!
(Also, I’m really glad I blog, because I couldn’t remember all of those off the top of my head!)
That being said, I think it’s time I get back to more concrete goals. After some reflection, this is what I’ve come up with for this year:
I think these are all pretty self-explanatory, but I’m actually excited about them! I also think they’re generally pretty doable — sure, “spending less lunches at my desk” might be vague, but it’s something I want to work on. Care to share any of yours? Or do you go for mantras instead?
~ Sarah