Blog Every Day in January (FOR REAL) Day 1: 2013 Recap and New Years Resolutions

OH WHAT A SURPRISE I'VE RETURNED TO BLOGGING AT THE START OF A NEW YEAR WOW MELANIE YOU'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN OH YOU'VE BEEN BUSY OKAY THAT'S FINE WELCOME BACK.

Okay okay, that's out of the way now and I can get to the real MEAT of this post.

The first day of the New Year is almost over, and it's been...a pretty normal day. New Years eve and day are usually a pretty big deal for me, because I spend time reflecting on the past year, then partying, then...recovering. But I didn't get a chance to reflect, I didn't party particularly hard (...I did help clean up pretty hard afterwards tho), and I didn't have much recovery time before going to socialize. So before I move forward and think about this new year, I think I'll take a moment to think about the old one.

I want to say that 2013 was a BIG YEAR for me, because a lot of really important events happened. But 2012 had a lot of important events, and so did 2011. I don't want to say that any of the important events from this past year were bigger than the ones that happened in the years before. So I guess 2013 was an average sized year for me. But yeah, some big stuff happened. At the beginning of the year I lost someone really important to me. My grandmother passed away in February, and it was a tough time for me. It was my first ever real experience with grief, and yeah, it was a big deal. I spent a lot of spring semester feeling the need to become someone that she would have been proud of. So I worked really hard academically and started to act a little bit more like the person I pictured myself being in the future. Along the way I managed to have a great semester. I went to Dallas with Chorale in March (right after turning 21!) and had a blast while also gaining some meaning musical experiences as I often do with Chorale. I finished my middle school practicum placement feeling really good about my future as a music teacher. At the end of May I felt really good about myself, and the good feelings carried through the summer, which was very productive--you can tell by the amount I blogged.

Fall was tougher. I fell off the blogging wagon (again) and got back on the build-a-healthy-lifestyle wagon...and fell of again. I also prepared a senior recital, which I was super proud of, but it also brought up some long hidden feelings of insecurity about my abilities as a musician. These insecurities seeped into my personal life and in my high school practicum experiences. I wasn't as confident anymore and I was letting it affect like...everything. As the year ended I slowly began to pick myself up again, and for me a new year is a fresh start, as it is for most people.

I kind of cringe internally when people complain that New Years resolutions are pointless and that people only follow their New Years Resolutions during the month of January and then spend the rest of the year doing whatever they want. Yeah, it happens. But fresh starts are so important. We get lots of opportunities throughout the year to take a fresh start, and New Years Resolutions are just one of those opportunities.

My resolutions for the upcoming year are:

1.) Be a healthy person.
2.) Tie up all my loose ends from 2013. Ooh thats cryptic. "WHAT LOOSE ENDS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN." Wouldn't YOU like to know. Hehehe.
(Really I just need to get organized)
3.) Teach teach teach!! Find opportunities to teach, even if I have to make them myself.
4.) Spend more time connecting with friends near and far.
5.) Blog every day in January and then once a week for the REST OF THE YEAR (ha ha ha ha ha)
6.) Vlog more often. Thats all
7.) Read 50 books! I MEAN IT.

If today is any sort of preview for the upcoming year, then I'll take it. It feels good to surround myself with family and friends, and I hope that 2014 is full of good moments with special people.

SEE YOU TOMORROW, INTERNET.