New Year's Resolutions: 5

Part Five: Be a Better Person

On this, my last day of blogging for 2005 and the final installment of the New Year's Resolutions discussion, I'm faced with the most daunting resolution of all:
Help others (Number 9 on the New Year's Resolution list.)

I think most resolutions are aimed at improving our enjoyment of life, as I mentioned yesterday. And number 10 on the list, "get organized", would still fall under this category, as a self-improvement that will free up time and space and increase your zen-like calm and focus on a daily basis.

As many of you who have called me a "freak" or "weirdo" are aware, I actually enjoy organizing. Seriously enjoy it. This is not hard for me.

The helping others part, now that's more of a challenge. In theory, I support volunteering and selflessness all the way. In reality? I never get out and do it. After four years of blatantly not volunteering as an undergraduate at UD (where there's an opportunity around every brick and ivy corner) I did a year's volunteer service to make up for it. It's now been five years since I've finished my volunteer year and I've done next to nothing ... so I think it's about that time again.

I found it very interesting that no reference to religion was anywhere on the Top 10 Resolutions list. It could be part of "help others" or "enjoy life more," but I would really consider it a separate category. For me, I think it might be a sub-category of "learn something new," since I'm intrigued by the Unitarian Universalist faith and I'd like to learn more--if I can get past the cumbersome name.

So finally, here it is in writing, my New Year's Resolutions list, which may or may not bear any resemblance to what I've been discussing all week:

1. Buy a house. (So much for the get out of debt part!)


2. Get a dog.


3. Pay off my first car. (The bank actually controls this, not me, but I'll still take credit for it!)


4. Read 50 books, with a minimum of 12 classics and a maximum of 10 romances.


5. Start lifting weights regularly again, run a sub-30 min. 5k, and lose enough chub to banish the "fat face" which has been mysteriously creeping back into recent photos.


6. Learn more about creating graphics for a website; get virtualfam.com up and running.


7. Join an organization that works to increase literacy and contribute on a regular basis.


8. Visit 12 places I've never seen before. They can be down the street or around the world--as long as they're new to me.


9. Finish my travel book synopsis and send it to 10 agents.


10. Try one new variety of wine.
    
    ... and because I feel that lists with 10 items are passe:


11. Write a blog entry every non-holiday weekday in 2006.

Happy New Year's!