Should old acquaintance be forgot

Happy twenty eleven!!

[that's how I'm referring to it. Officially. Back off all you "two thousand eleven-ers."]

We rang it in right, with good friends, dance music, and midnight kisses all around.

Let's start the year off with a list post, shall we?

They are my fav.

10 things I took from [twenty]10

 .1. I am still young, with so much time ahead of me to figure myself and the world out.

.2. Graduating from college seems like the end of something, when really it hardly scratches the surface of what is to come. [I find it hard to believe that I have been out of school for over 6 months, but alas.]

.3. Nothing can take the place of kindred spirits.

.4. Working at a restaurant is a lifestyle in and of itself. It's not always fun, but it is sometimes, and there's nothing wrong with working hard, even if it's not what you studied to do. [See number 1.]

.5. Student loans are a rite of passage into adulthood, and also debt.

.6. Family becomes more and more important the older that you get. They might be a lot to take, but they are yours, and they will always support you.

.7. Everyone needs a cheerleader sometimes.

.8. Paying all of your bills by yourself is a very liberating experience, and it will change your entire awareness about the value of money and the importance of not spending it all the time. [This can be a difficult lesson to learn, but necessary nonetheless]

.9. Finding the joy in every situation will enrich your life more than you would think. The little things are what make you happy more often than the big ones, and it's important to be aware of how blessed you really are.

.10. Generosity is like karma, what goes around comes around.

11 resolutions for [twenty]11

.1. Get an internship in my career field.

.2. Read more about history [biographies, 1900's, political history, biology of the earth, etcetera]. I am of the mind frame that the more I understand about where we come from, the better I will be able to understand where we are headed. Plus it's really interesting.

.3. Be more proactive about the things I want to do in my life, such as traveling abroad again. [Figure out ways to make it happen]

.4. Complain less. Pout less. Appreciate more.

.5. Be more patient [with others and with myself]

.6. I got this next one out of my new book [yay christmas!] by Rainn Wilson and the Soulpancake crew, called Chew on Life's Big Questions. It's a quote from Marie Curie [so you know it's legit, ha]: "Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas" Enough said.

.7. Keep my lovely weblog up and running and current and beautiful.

.8. Take small trips. I love traveling, but I can't always swing the costs. A weekend away, however, I can budget for, and I think it's good to keep from getting too stagnant.

.9. Try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including staying active and striving to eat better. [Or at least staying active.] This includes investing in a bicycle when the weather permits riding again.

.10. Do yoga as much as possible. Explore getting certified as an instructor.

.11. Make a conscientious effort to save money better.

I'm using the term resolutions loosely, because many would argue that making too many outlandish goals is just setting yourself up for disappointment. I'm not looking at it that way. I'm looking at it as taking a survey of myself from the previous year, and pointing out what I feel like I should work on and bear in mind for the next. It is something that should be done at regular intervals, and a year works pretty well.

Happy new year :)

Yours, truly