Happy 2014, 100-dians! I hope that so far, 2014 is great for you. The end of 2013 brought in a lot of happy surprises for a lot of people I care about, and I wanted to take a moment to recognize it. I had friends get married, get engaged, go back to school, buy property and have babies (looking at you, B-Moy), and I’m very happy for them. It’s great to see such good things happen for people I love.
2013 brought a lot of change into my life. I’m entering 2014 feeling completely renewed, and I have a lot of hope for whatever surprises the year has in store. It’s kind of funny, because when I look back at 2013, I wonder if it’s possible to have another year like it.
When I came back from Europe, I felt this kind of emptiness, despite my success. I had done it – I had done something I had always wanted to do, something I defined myself by… so what was I going to do now?
I struggled with that for a few weeks.
Elizabeth told me it was OK to have doubts. It was OK to wait, relax, and just focus on staying busy with work and staying fulfilled. She was right. It wasn’t too long until that emptiness was replaced with vindication.
Despite any doubt, any fear, I had bought a one-way ticket to Iceland. I climbed volcanoes, I ate fermented shark, I drank Brennavin, I hitchhiked around the Ring Road – I did it. Perhaps not the best I could have done it, but pretty damn close.
That’s given me all the fuel I need to pursue 2014 with an insane amount of enthusiasm. Iceland shattered a wall for me – the wall that seems to block you away from what you want. I wake up every morning knowing that dreams, goals, ambitions are attainable. I know it. I believe it to be true, because I have the proof.
So here comes my 2014 manifesto: experiences I hope to have, goals I want to conquer in 2014. Read it, don’t read it, enjoy it, make your own:
Embrace Minimalism & Simplicity
Before I left for Iceland, I got rid of a lot of stuff. We’re talking bags upon bags of clothing, furniture, home decor, etc. Stuff for some reason, at some time or another, I thought I needed. My favorite example is a spice rack that I’ve used maybe three or four times – within three years of owning it.
So, I’m going minimal. Living out of a backpack for three months really makes you realize that you don’t need too much to get by. I’ve already pruned down my amount of possessions, but I hope to acquire a level of minimalism that enables me to save more money and get more organized.
Cook Cook Cook
I’ve said it a million times, and here I go again – I used to love to cook. I have a ton of really great cookbooks and I’ve acquired an unhealthy amount of Bon Appetit magazines. I’ve got homemade fried chicken down to a science. But I just never make time to cook.
I attribute it to traveling often, eating practically the same thing each day and being significantly happier – cooking used to be an escape for me. I haven’t needed it like I used to. I want to regain my enthusiasm for it.
Zoom In
I don’t think he’ll mind if I share, but Mike recently referred to me as “zoomed out”. This was in the context of a comparison he and I – wasn’t too deep of a conversation. But it’s actually a great way to describe me – I tend to be very zoomed out.
Sometimes, it works in my favor. I tend to bypass potential stressful situations quicker, I don’t get hung up on details, etc. However, since I’ve started to recognize this about myself, I’ve realized how many little things I’ve missed.
So it’s not always a good thing. There’s important things I tend to skip over because I’m not looking closely enough. I want to get better at that.
Give Things More Time
My choice to move to Raleigh, even in the short term, wasn’t easy. I went back and forth about it, and contemplated buying a plane ticket to Guam. The first week was rough and full of doubts. But a good friend of mine (coincidently named Melissa as well), gave me some solid advice: “Just give it a chance.”
I’m not quick to quit things – I’m good at being motivated. But looking back at work opportunities, living situations, friendships – there are a lot of things I’ve prematurely given up on. I tend to keep an invisible parachute in my backpack – you know, if I’ve got to bail. I should probably put that away for awhile.
So although I’m a huge advocate of not investing too much time in a failing endeavor, I’d like to be better at giving things a proper opportunity to flourish. Despite my impatience, some things take time.
Run
In 2013, I tried to be a runner. I made little, yet unsatisfying progress. In the first few weeks of 2014, I tried to start again by running a 5k, but unforeseeable circumstances prevented it.
I might continue to start running, just to stop again, but I want to give it a proper chance (see above). Getting good at any new activity takes a considerable amount of time, effort and persistence.
Stop Saying Yes
There’s a movie “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel that came out awhile ago. I never saw it. I didn’t need to, because I’m a yes girl. It’s one of most obvious things about me. I’m quick to say yes to things, sometimes too frequently, because I don’t like to disappoint people. It spreads me too thin, and probably ends up disappointing people more.
So if I say “no” to you in 2014, please don’t be offended. Attribute it to my efforts to be more productive, more reliable, and much more organized.
Write Everyday, Read
When I was a kid, my parents called me “the librarian” – my head was always in a book. I miss the way I used to lose myself in stories – my own or someone else’s. Awhile back, I posted a reading list on here and I’m reinforcing that intention with a promise to myself – I’m going to read more.
I’m also setting a daily benchmark for my writing – I want to produce one blog post a day, whether it be here, on the OMA blog, or on Vintage and Nerdy. I ran into an old friend from Fort Bragg recently, and she told me something I already knew – I don’t post on here enough. I’m going to be more proactive about it.
Travel Often
When I got back in October, I was burned out. The thought of sitting on an airplane, hopping on a train or waking up in a hotel room made me want to scream. But after a break, my wanderlust crept back in. I’m planning on doing a lot of travel in 2014 – not on the same scale as Iceland/Europe, and mostly domestically. I don’t want to lose momentum in my travel writing.
I’m hoping that after my upcoming trip to Los Angeles/Portland for two weeks, I’ll continue with trips to Nashville, New York, maybe the Florida Keys, perhaps Jackson Hole – we’ll see how it goes. I just want to remain adventurous.
Buy Property
This is by far my most ambitious goal, and also, the one I’m most excited about. One of my long term goals has always been to own property, and make it my own. After years of waiting (despite almost plunging into it a few times), I’ve decided this will be the year. I’m hoping to own property by 2015, in Wilmington. Wilmington has become my home, and although I’m sure my travels will keep me away, I want to have a place to go home to.
Practice Positivity, Gratitude & Love
I’m always looking to improve myself, and this year, I want to work on being happier. In general, I’m a pretty happy person, but on a day to day basis, I find myself giving into stress and frustration.
There’s an expression I really like that sums it up (I’m sure you’ve heard of it):
An old Cherokee told his grandson: “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, and resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.”
The boy thought about it, and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”
The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed.”
In short, I want to feed the good wolf – with positivity, gratitude and love. I want to stop feeding doubt with fear, fear with indifference – you get the point.
What do you want to accomplish in 2014? Fire off in the comments!