Happy 2014!

I'm kicking off the new year by kicking off a new blog! I never thought I could get into the blogging thing until I tried doing it for my two recent international trips (see 180º in 180 days if you want to read about those). Turns out, I like it... so I'm going to keep doing it even though I am home and my life is considerably less interesting ;)

I love New Year's resolutions because I love goals. As many of my friends can attest, I'm a little too obsessed with goals and you can probably see that in the length of this list. Still, I tried to only include meaningful goals that address some of the wishes I have had or areas of potential improvement I have noticed over the last year.

1. Read 5 news articles a week. I realized this year that even though I claim to have an interest in the world and want to go out into it as a missionary, I really don't know anything about what is happening out there (or even in the US). I want to be a more well-informed citizen of my country and of the world before I try to make opinions or help out with issues. Plus, any current events knowledge I gain by doing this will help out in VR Trivia :)
2. Listen to 5 new pieces of music a week. I know surprisingly little about music considering the fact that I am one class short of finishing a Music Performance major. I would like to expand what I have heard and what I know about certain composers, styles, time periods, etc. by listening to new pieces on a regular basis.
3. Give more money. Specifically, I would like to tithe 10% of my earnings to my church as well as donate 5% to a charity/NGO/mission that I have researched. I have various reasons for wanting to focus on this that I am having a hard time figuring out how to write down, but to sum them up, I think it is a good practice to be obedient to God, relinquish my attachment to material possessions, and support those who are trying to do good in the world. 
4. Learn 7 new Spanish words a week. After I overcame my general fear of speaking Spanish while in Ecuador, the main thing holding me back was a simple lack of vocabulary. I feel relatively comfortable with grammar and conversing now, but it is always disappointing to lack the relevant words to express myself. 
5. Eat healthier... which sounds cliché since nearly everybody makes this their resolution, but I would like to do my best to boycott junk food and fast food in order to stop being a hypocrite about nutrition issues. I have realized while studying nutrition in Ecuador that a HUGE nutritional problem around the world is that globalization is bringing these horrible foods into every culture and enticing people to eat them, causing malnutrition, obesity and sickness. I can harp about that as much as I want but I am a hypocrite until I can also put aside these foods and thereby withdraw my support from these companies.
6. Run 5 5k races. I'm not concerned about the exercise part of this so much as the endurance, mental toughness and focus. I've always known that I tire out really fast, but when I failed miserably at climbing Cotopaxi in Ecuador this fall, I realized how much I lack the mental ability to keep pushing on. Running is an area where I can really work on this mental toughness and I think the strengths I can gain from training for and running these races will affect many areas of my life.
7. Read the Bible... in 2 years. From August 2012 - August 2013 (the year I was 20) I completed a "read the Bible in a year" plan. It was great and I was fascinated to read things that I normally don't turn to. BUT, those were some big reading chunks to do every day and I didn't get to spend much time on any of the sections. Hopefully, spreading this reading plan out over 2 years will allow me to think more deeply about what I am reading. I know, this is a resolution for the next 2 years. So for this year, my goal is to read half of the Bible!

If you see me and think about it, ask me how these resolutions are coming! Accountability works wonders. What are your resolutions?