Hello 2015

Text reads: hello 2015
Picture by So-ghislaine

Happy New Year, even though it’s one day late. I tried to get this posted on January 1, but I ended up sleeping all day, and then when I woke up I cleaned the kitchen floor. After that, I went ice skating with my sisters, getting a bite to eat afterwards. So by the time I came home it was around ten. However, I had to deal with a dead mouse, which somehow ended up under my desk. Once that was dealt with, came the attempt to multitasking. So right now, I’m reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez for my English class, catching up on unread blog posts, writing this blog post, and coming up with New Year’s Resolutions for this year.

Generally every year for New Years, I stay up and watch the ball drop on TV. However, a few minutes before midnight strikes I look over my resolutions and see what went wrong, what went right, and what I should improve on next year so I can actually do it. And then a few minutes after midnight I work on my New Year's resolutions.

However, I sometimes end up at other New Years events, like the downtown Salt Lake celebration. Or I just end up watching random videos with my older sister. So I would generally write my resolutions afterwards. However, I didn't do it this year.

Instead of writing down my New Year’s resolutions sometime in the early morning hours, when it’s still dark, I ended up writing it an hour before the new day ends. The main reason is because I have been procrastinating more often, lately. Maybe because I finally contracted the senioritis virus that hits almost every high school senior. But, I eventually do what it is that I’m supposed to do.

So without further ado, here is an unabridged version of my 2015 New Year's Resolutions.

Work out once a week for 15 minutes.

It’s a typical exercise resolution that almost everybody makes once in their lifetime. And there are a variety of reasons of why a person would make it in the first place. For me, it’s because I want to be in shape, especially if there are any zombie apocalypses in my lifetime. It also helps during the skiing season, because I won’t feel so sore the next day. Plus I feel happier when I exercise. Though that doesn’t mean that I’m still any less awkward.

Read at least 24 books this year.

Ever since I moved, the number of books that I have read has gone down. Because I have been getting more and more distracted, mainly because of harder schoolwork. So it would take me a little while to read a book. It also doesn’t help much that I’m not within walking distance of a library and that my school library has a small (but ever growing) variety of books. So, I’m going to try to read more ebooks this year. Even though I’m not a giant fan of them, but I will tolerate them.

Love myself a teensy bit more.

This will be a slightly hard one. I never really hated my body but I’ve tolerated with it all these years. But there are still a few flaws that I’m just not happy with. So this year I’m going to try to find some good about them.

Take more selfies.

They’re fun to take. Plus it’s something to do when I get bored. And it’s a simple reminder that I love myself and that I think I’m pretty.

Sleep before midnight, especially on breaks.

Lately, I’ve had a bad habit of staying up way too late on non-school nights. To the point where I now get up past eleven o’clock in the morning. Which kind of disappoints me because I’m missing the quietness that morning offers. As well as Saturday morning cartoons. Plus it’s scary knowing that I’m spending half the day in sleep. So this year, I want to sleep before midnight, with only one exception and that is New Year’s Eve. And I want to try getting up around nine in the morning on weekends and on breaks. So in order to do this, it means setting up an alarm on the weekends and during the break. Though there is a small chance that this will not work at all, because I adore sleep too much.

Procrastinate less often

There is a highly small chance that I will actually stop procrastinating. So I’m going to try to make myself procrastinate less often this year. To do this I’m going to be stricter on myself and not be so lenient when using the chrome extension stayfocused. As in, I’ll use it more often. Because it really does help. But for the phone, I’ll be using focus lock, an android app that locks certain apps for a bit of time, and then you get a break. However, I’m not sure if I can resist the temptation of stories and television this year. 

Be more organized

My desk and bookshelf and school binder has become a mess once more. And the problem is, I don’t clean my desk or bookshelf often. So this year, I plan to spend at least one day of the week to organize my desk. As well as take a few pictures of it, so I can inspire myself to continue making my desk clean. I also plan to create a rough study schedule. This will hopefully help me procrastinate less often. As well as organize my time, and help me not freak out and worry so much about what I need to study next.

Write once a week for at least fifteen minutes.

I love writing. It’s the reason why I do NaNoWriMo every year, why I continue blogging (even after long breaks), do writing challenges that aren’t Nanowrimo and fail at it, and lead me to choose an English major when I reach college. However, I don’t write often. Or at least write more often for fun. Which affects my writing. And in my opinion, making it worse. Even though, I know every writer goes through a period that they cringe at later because they were pretty bad. So, for once a week for at least fifteen minutes, I’ll write a story of some sorts. This is easier than writing a full blown novel, because I never finish those. Plus, I like writing short stories because it’s easier for me to finish. And it gives me a chance to use some aus that I have been saving.

Blog at least once a month

Despite that long break and not really missing blogging, I still like it. I like having the chance to put my thoughts out there, in the hopes that at least one person will listen. And I like finding other people who has the same interests as me. Blogging has helped me open my mind and grow as a person. And I want to continue blogging as well as be more involved in the blogging community, by commenting more often on other blogs. So at least once a month, I’ll post something on here. Whether it’s a video that I like, something that I’ve written, a topic that I want to share to the world, etc. And hopefully, I can post more than once a month if schoolwork isn’t that heavy.

Review this list once a week

How can I do the things on my 2015 New Year's Resolutions list if I don't remember them? 

Also, I hope that this year will be a better year than last year. I hope that you guys feel happy about yourselves, if not that at least okay. I also hope that you don't forget to be awesome (DFTBA).

And now the weather:

- Cool Kids by Echosmith

Meaning behind the song:

“Cool Kids,” …  tells the story of a boy and girl who just want to be noticed, hinging on the lines: “I wish that I could be like the cool kids/’Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in.”
Jamie says the message of the song is simple: the coolest thing you can be is yourself. But more often than not, fans tell the band that they relate to the kids they’re singing about. That they feel like the outsider looking in.
“This cry to be like the cool kids… it’s something that everyone kind of goes through whether you want to act like it or not,” Jamie said. “There’s always somebody out there that you kind of wish, ‘If only I could do this, or do that.’ I think that’s why it connects with people so well.”
From radio.com

- Stacy N.
Note: This was written around midnight. So by the time I was finished, I was too tired to edit it, so I went to bed and edited the next day.