Saturday, January 5, 2013

Ringing in the New Year



School and life in general became really busy for me in the last few months. I spent less time blogging and social networking and more time working and spending time with friends and family, which I can't say is a bad thing at all!

I decided to look over last year's resolutions (http://melodysmusing.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html) to see how I did at following (or remembering) any of them!

As for the first resolution regarding flossing and mouthwash... yeah not everyday. Or even every few days. I was pretty good about flossing about once a week throughout the year, give or take a few weeks off or more often if I had popcorn stuck in my teeth. I bought some mouthwash that is supposed to whiten my teeth but it burns SO MUCH to use that I hardly ever do. :/



I didn't buy a new hardcover Bible, but I did download a NIV version on my kindle app on my smartphone to look up passages in church. It has helped a bit, but I'm still looking for that hardcover that will work for me and the way my brain thinks. I can't say I had a program for reading, but I was a part of a women's book study that has now included books by Rodney Reeves and Rachel Held Evans. Baby steps, people.



As of this summer I DID have all my store and credit cards paid off. Unfortunately during the school year some unexpected purchases were made and so I have money on 2 of them again (out of 6!), but I really have been doing SO much better. It's amazing how much money you have when you aren't spending a couple hundred a month on credit card bills.


In some ways I have become a better friend, in some ways worse. I do believe that we grow and change as we get older, and there are some people I have drifted apart from either because of fewer shared interests or because I can't handle their lifestyle choices (respect, yes; wish to be a part of, no). I did try to reconnect with some friends over the last few months, and for some it worked out. I'm sad about the others, but like I said, we all grow and change. All I can do is keep trying!


I did not become a regular donor for any specific charity this year. I did find out that I can donate money through some of my survey companies, however, and I have been able to donate money that earned through the amount of time I spent on surveys to organizations such as St. Jude, the Red Cross, Unicef, and Clean Water Fund. It's menial really, and I'm not trying to brag; I just feel like this was a step for me in the right direction since I really don't make enough to donate even the minimum monthly amount that many charities ask for.


So how did I do?

About as much as I expected, really. I didn't think I would necessarily succeed on my goals, but they were constantly on my mind and in the forefront of many of my actions. Even if we know it's not likely for us to succeed, it's important to keep striving for your goals and trying every day to become the best version of yourself.


So what about this year? I've been thinking about this for awhile especially since so much has happened in the last month.

1.) Get a real-person job!

This is it. I will (hopefully!) start/finish my thesis and final recital project this spring and then graduate for the second time at Missouri State University. I'm so thankful for the opportunities given to me during graduate school, and now I will have to make my way out into the world. People keep asking me where I plan to go/what I plan to do, but I don't have an answer! I will apply for jobs in the teaching realm in primary, secondary, and continued education levels. I will look into musical performance jobs, as well as look into my recently rediscovered modeling contract. The possibilities, I feel, are endless. I will go where I get the best job offer, quite possibly the first/only job offer I receive! 


2.) Reconnect with extended family.

I lost one of my aunts this past week to a twenty-year battle with cancer that I honestly knew little about until the last couple of years. That is completely unacceptable on my part. I lost my grand-parents at a young age and since then I have seen less and less of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Some I have not seen since I was a child. 

I realize I have a bigger family (on BOTH sides) than many but I need to do better at reconnecting with them on a regular basis, whether it's through hand-written cards, emails, facebook messages, phone calls, or visits in person. It should not take a funeral for me to find out where my cousin goes to college in a city I've visited 3 times in the past year, or a separation/divorce that has been in the works for years, or a disease that may be killing another of my aunts. Change starts with me!



3.) Make a budget plan for paying off student loans.

I looked up my student loan account this past month and it scared me in my tracks. College is expensive when you don't have a rich family member paying for it, or a college fund set aside when you were a baby by your parents/grand-parents. I have been mapping out average salaries for teachers in my field and believe I have come up with a possible plan, but it all depends on what will happen once I graduate. 

Will I get a job? Will I get a job in the field my degree is in? Who knows with this economy. I am hopeful that I WILL get a job and can find decently priced housing so that I can set my plan to be student-loan-debt-free before I'm thirty. After all, I may want to get married, buy a house, and have babies by then!

All I know is I would rather keep living like a poor college student for a few more years than live like a poor American with debt the rest of my life.


4.) Take a vacation!

I know this seems ironic to have this right underneath the post about getting out of debt, but here's the deal:

I have worked hard for a long time. People work hard with joy in their heart when they have something they are working towards or looking forward to. Since I am not engaged/married/having kids/etc, I need to work for a personal goal for myself and have a little savings account that I will put money in for a vacation each year. Doesn't have to be really far or for very long!

I honestly believe that God did not put us on Earth to work ourselves to death but rather to enjoy what he has given us, so I plan to spend a little bit of time each year doing just that. I want to go out and experience the world, and I've been told repeatedly that you need to go while you are still young!



I think that is my 2013 in a nutshell. What are your goals/resolutions for the new year? Hope you all have a good one!