I'm Actually Following Through with my Resolutions!!

At the beginning of this year I made 9 new years resolutions, I mean, "goals." Pft. I called them goals, so as not to be too predictable. Typical me. I should really talk with myself about that. Just wanted to give some progress reports for my own personal records. It was a good year, I accomplished almost every goal!! I made sure that my goals were attainable and relevant, I didn't just pick things like "Party in 20 different countries" because that doesn't matter to me first of all, but also it isn't something that I can realistically work into my life.

1. Read the Bible every day. 
Did I say that I met all my goals? This is an awkward one to start with because I did not do this. However, I'm completely okay with that. This goal was going well for like a month, and as planned for a good 5 months I think, but it got to the point where I was doing it as quickly as possible so I could check it off of my to-do list. It made me not want to read my bible any more because it just became a chore, so I decided to free myself up from that. Funnily enough, I've learned more about God's word and I've grown more than ever this year! I haven't read my bible in a couple months to be honest, but I've been hearing from the Lord every day and learning sooooo much. It's so awesome how you don't need to read your bible every day to grow!

2. Post on Instagram every day.

Again, this is awkward, but I only made it like 8 days on this one. To be fair I was up in the mountains during a blizzard and the internet was terrible on that day, but I have no such excuse for the rest of the year. With this goal I realized how I'd rather put in the effort to make a post really good than do a bunch of 'eh' ones all the time. You really have to be in the practice of planning ahead to make this one work. I might try it again, but I don't think I'll try it on new years day. I think I'll just end up starting one day, and before I realize it I'll have been posting every day for a month. It's gonna sneak up on me.

3. Gain Back Flexibility.

I'm happy to say that while my back isn't as flexible as it could be, generally I'm more flexible than I was last year. I've been doing lots of handstands and cartwheels whenever I think of it, and finally found a stretching routine where someone is actually instructing you in how to properly stretch at a beginner's level. The only routines I could find previously were done by level 10 gymnasts who can lift their leg over their shoulder to meet their other leg and they tell you to "just do the splits all the time and eventually it'll be easy." This may work for some, but receiving that kind of advice for me is medically dangerous because I end up with pulled muscles in my inner thigh because I was "just trying to do the splits in a swimming pool in Hawaii." I am speaking from experience, yes. I wish I was joking, but I was out for a year from that incident.

4. Go small business shopping often.

I've done this a lot and it's been so much fun!! At some point I realized that bakeries are included in this category, so I pretty much just went to a bunch of bakeries. It was a good year indeed. 

It's really refreshing because it's always an interesting experience to visit a small business, and it's also so nice to know that my money is going to someone who is working really hard to do what they love. Whenever I have the chance I'm trying to buy things from small businesses even if they cost a little more than a chain store just because it's become important to me. Amazon is going to be fiiinnneee if we don't buy books from them, but to that book store down the road it makes a huge difference. It's a very interesting science.

5. Buy more CLOTHES.

I made this a big priority and it's been such a great investment. I love having clothes that I love, and I realized that getting dressed is my favorite time of day. Rarely will you ever see me in an outfit that doesn't have something fun about it going on. Often times I'll match my socks with my lipstick. I don't know whether that sounds fun to you, but to me it's an accomplishment.

6. Read 40 books.

Currently at 44, and on track to finish at least 46 by the end of the year. I did read a lot of small books, but no more than I usually do so I don't know how I read so much. I guess I've had more time? This is my all time record so that's exciting. 

7. End 12 Projects.

This is a long section, but it's my blog so I can do what I want. >:D For as long as I can remember I've always been someone to start projects because I have a sudden burst of inspiration, but then the inspiration dies away or something new will come up and I end up hopping off to the next big idea. This was really starting to weigh on me last year because I felt obligated to try to finish everything I had started. All these projects were things that I kept in my room, and they were taking up too much physical space and brain space. I didn't want to let them go, I wanted to finish them, I just didn't feel like I had the endurance to do so. There's always something else to do, so it's hard to give priority to the thing you used to want. Do you still want it? Will it be worth the time? Does it deserve to be a priority over other things?
I wanted to give an update because this has still been on my heart, and I'm excited to say that I've completely surpassed my goal already!
I've been able to finish so many of the projects I'd been so excited about but got distracted from for a time, and it's so nice to be able to finally complete some things. It's clearing up space in my life in all aspects. Better yet, it's making room for all sorts of new ideas too!
Here is a list of nearly every project I've completed this year that was not started this year:

1. Mended my stuffed animal that had been sitting on the sewing cabinet for months.
2. Finished sewing a scarf that I had bought the fabric for almost two years ago.
3. Finished knitting another scarf that I started last fall.
4. Finished editing a photoshoot for a costume I made with my cousin last October.
5. Finished a friendship bracelet that I started 2 or 3 years ago.
6. Finished editing a video of our baby rabbits that I took last summer.
7. Finished editing a video I made with a cousin last Spring.
8. Finished sorting through a ton of pictures that needed to be thinned out, and organized better.
9. Finished reading 3 of the books I bought on back-friday last year.
10. Finished reading a book that I had started last year.
11. Altered a shirt I've been wanting to since last year. (See detailed post.)
12. Seam-ripped an entire leather jacket to get the leather, which I've been wanting to do since last year.
13. Finished editing a short story that I wrote two years ago.
14. Re-evaluated an old sewing project, decided that it was no longer something I wanted to work on. Therefor, I finished. 
15. Got rid of a latch hook project that I've had in my closet since I was like 6 because I wanted to try to finish it. Now I'm finished with it! XD
16. Brought a sculpture project to life that I'd been wanting to make for over a year.
17. I finally got the haircut I'd been wanting since last year.
18. I finally got the drawing tablet I'd been wanting for months.
19. I started learning a few different programs that I'd been wanting to learn for at least a year, but I had always hit mental roadblocks with. 
20. I started learning Spanish again.
21. I finally listened to a few different albums that I'd been wanting to listen to for a couple years.
22. I finally started watching Star Trek TNG, which I'd been wanting to do for a couple years. It's awesome. 
23. I finished Sherlock. *cry*
24. I finished a video series that I started on my Youtube channel two years ago.
25. I finished a tube of lip balm. This is my most proud accomplishment of them all.
26. I found some old videos from years ago on my computer that had never been completed, and I finished editing them and started to upload them to my personal channel. 

It may seem like I started getting off track in my list there, but to me a project is something you have set in your mind to do that takes a deal of time to complete. These all fit that category, whether it's learning something, doing something, or working towards something, it all takes time and determination. 

It's not like everything in my life is finished and I've tied up all my loose ends, because even though I finished so many things from last year, I also started a lot of stuff this year that maybe I'll get to finish next year. XD Jk...I hope....

It's not about having everything done, it's about giving your ideas a chance to turn into the thing you imagined, and learning to stick with something worthwhile. I could have gotten rid of all my unfinished craft projects and given up on organizing my thousands and thousands of photos, but all I would have done is given myself more time to start something else that needs finishing. I just want to be a finisher. 

Not everything needs to be finished though, which is also nice. I've gotten rid of a lot of things this year that just didn't matter to me any more that I'd felt obliged to for some reason.

I'm so excited about everything I'm working on right now. You should see my room, it's covered in projects! I seem to be going through them faster than before though. It's kind of awesome. :)

8. Make a Youtube video every week.

This is one that I started 10 weeks ago. Lucky for me that I didn't specify whether this meant every week all year, or just every week at some point! >:) I started it when I was ready, and I've been more successful this try than I ever have before. I've tried to post consistently lots of times, but usually it dies off after week two. See, it snuck up on me, just like Instagram is going to. DON'T PRESSURE YOURSELF INTO DOING THINGS THAT YOU'RE NOT READY FOR, THERE WILL BE A MORE OPPORTUNE TIME.

9. Become Ambidextrous.

This one was funny. At some point this year I had some wrist pain and carpel tunnel symptoms after an intense bout of editing. Editing can be hazardous, apparently. So when my right hand was out of commission for a while I remembered my resolution and spent some time writing the alphabet with my left hand. It was a terrible alphabet, but I sure did try. This goal was partially about learning to do a sweet party trick/get three steps closer to being able to go undercover at a moment's notice, but it was mainly about evening out the muscles in my shoulders. I noticed that brushing my teeth was one of the main contributors to my ripped right shoulder because I do it every day and it can be quite tiring, so I started brushing my teeth with my left hand whenever I had the mental strength for that sort of advanced co-ordination. I'm happy to report that I can now brush my teeth with my left hand at full speed with minimal incidents. Sometimes I miss my mouth and brush my face, but that's okay because my face is all the cleaner because of it.

Everything worked out wonderfully, and I'm excited to set more attainable goals for this next year. Go adulthood!

 -Lilly