How is this year shaping up for you?
Are you satisfied with how well things have worked out in your favor? Do you remember that list of New Year’s resolutions on January 1st? Go back to your diary or deep into your memories on Day # 1 and read those goals because you still have time. How do you balance your book? Why are we always making December, the time to reflect on a year full of incredible memories?
New goals for a new year, or perhaps a new year trying to accomplish old goals.
There are so many ways to approach your resolutions. I approached mine by carefully selecting achievable goals. Holly asked at the beginning of the year during her Project Wednesday email about our resolutions. She said: “It can be super beneficial to feel accountable to someone else when attempting to reach new heights – even if they are a stranger! I want to see you succeed. I want to see you accomplish your wildest (and mildest) dreams – and every little step in between. We can chat as much or as little as needed. I am here to help/support/advise/cheer you on!”
Holly did just what she promised: She was there to help/support/advise and cheer me on. Why? Because she is Holly and we are here sharing our stories on Project Wednesday. Because when we care about others, we believe that we can make a difference, we can make someone else’s day, we can hear someone else’s stories. What we see on the outside is just a shell. What’s most important is invisible. We hold it in our hearts and very profound in our souls.
I want to share with you one of my resolutions for 2017, but before I do that, I have to tell you how much I accomplished in 2016. 2016 was a great year for me. It was the year I graduated, the year I got my first big job, the year I moved to Oregon, the year that I saw for the first time the Pacific Ocean, the year that I traveled across the country to see amazing places, the year that I learnt new things, the year that marked my path to becoming an American citizen – a year of accomplishments and transitions.
2017 was a year of challenges. I agreed to meet a new person every day and I would record their names, places, and situations in a diary. My job was to get creative in order to accomplish my goal. I had to step out of my comfort zone into a new and challenging objective. I started going out to dance salsa twice a week, I attended meet ups to learn more about photography and to run a 5K every Sunday with a group of aficionados, I visited the gym more often, I joined a group of improvisation, I joined a Toastmasters club, I met beautiful people showing me new places, I started attending poetry on Thursday nights, I went to concerts, I signed up for races, I attended conferences, I volunteered at schools, I was invited to career fairs, I was on the radio, I wrote for a newspaper, and I got a tattoo.
In summary, I stayed busy.
I can say that I am a better dancer, I established a personal best during my last half marathon, I visited new cities and states, I saw a little more of the wonderful Pacific Northwest, I enjoyed music and movies with new friends, I became a lover of poetry, I am a better speaker and I fell in love.
However, the most enriching part of this experience is the fact that I met amazing and beautiful individuals. Everyone has a story to tell and if we take few minutes from our time to ask for their names and get to know them better, they will see their world differently because sometimes we forget about who else is out there looking for someone with similar characteristics or just someone to talk to.
I look at my photographs on Facebook and there are many memories of them. Memories that are not only recorded in a journal or in the web but they are recorded in my heart.
Don’t miss on the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and talk to someone, because maybe he or she is the answer for your next project in life.
