Writing My Own Story

I've always been a big believer in goals. Not for accomplishment, but for growth. I feel a constant need to move forward, to learn, to live. As a child, I would dream about the changes I would go through each summer. How I could re-invent myself before the new school year. New clothes, a tan, any physical change that would prove I was evolving as a person.  

That desire has not dimmed. I continue to look for ways to move forward. I don't want my life to become stagnant. So each year in January I try to think of goals to accomplish that year. I'm usually pretty successful. However, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." That's okay with me. As long as life continues to propel me forward.

I hate New Years Eve. I suffer a lot of anxiety on that day. I fear that everyone on the road is a drunk driver. I worry that my plans will not go accordingly or that out of all the events to go to, I'll choose the one that I have the least fun at, or what can I wear that is sparkly and comfortable? I've never had a bad NYE. But as I've gotten older, I just don't enjoy it as much. My most fun NYE was in 2001 when two of my friends and I stood in Time Square to watch the ball drop. I guess I hit the trifecta that year and every year has paled in comparison since.

This year, I didn't even try. I had invites to a couple different celebrations, but the truth is, I didn't want hang out outside in the cold, or feel alone in a room full of (single) strangers, or be the only sober person among a bunch of drunks. But society tells me that we need to "ring in the new year". Well, this year, I stuck it to the man! I saw Star Wars with the 'rents, and then I went to bed at 10pm. I'm not even sorry. So I was absent from social media platforms that night. Big deal, I had on sweats and slippers and no regrets. The next morning, I woke up, ran two miles through my deserted neighborhood, hit the gym and spent time pondering how I can grow as a person in the next 365 days.

So, here are my goals for this year:

Write more. So far so good. I've got a lot of thoughts swirling around so I just need to get them out!

Topics I want to write about: Love, family, travel, adventures, the unexpected, women worth mentioning, books, trials, things that suck.

Fitness. This makes the list every year. I love working out. I love the challenge. I love pushing my strength to the limit. I love gasping for air and feeling my heart pound in my chest. It reminds me I'm alive.

For years I have wanted to teach group fitness. I always pictured my self teaching kickboxing, one of my favorite ways to get my heart pumping. There has always been a piece of me that is terrified of going through teaching. What if no one likes my class? What if I teach everything in 20 minutes when it's suppose to be an hour? What if I don't challenge anyone physically? What if it's too challenging? How will I come up with choreography and on and on. But this year I have decided to take the bull by the horns. I am currently researching different certifications to reach barre. It's like ballet on crack. So far my favorite certification is for BootyBarre. I love the style and the results. It's also the most expensive. This will happen. When it does, I will blog about it.

Travel. I haven't traveled as often as I did when I lived in London. I miss it. Feels like a part of me is missing and there is still so much of the world that I want to discover.

Where I want to go: Vancouver, New York, London, Massachusetts, one of the Carolina's, Hershey Pennsylvania, Seattle and my own backyard.

Love and Relationships. This is my Mount Everest.

I will continue to search for companionship. I want a love like Carl and Ellie from Up (2009).

I have more goals like, bake something new once a month (let me know if you would like to be the recipient of these goodies), move to my own place, make more money, save more money. I've pretty much covered the big ones. So here is to 2016!

Susan "ch ch ch changes" B.

*All photos were taken from Pinterest and Google Images. They are not my own.