Life Checks Check-In

With all of the resolutions people are making around the new year (and a need to clean off my mirror before my holiday party next Friday), I figured now's a good time to review my Life Checks List. Today I'm looking at what I've done.

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2. Pay off the student loans

5. Pay to go to a show by myself (I already go to free ones, but this needs to be something I really want to see)

6. Have a windowsill full of houseplants/15. Have a successful window garden (Huh, must really want this one. Or not. Saw it up there at number 7. Only gets to count once.)



8. See the glaciers at Glacier National Park

Went this summer with my family. Technically, I'm not sure whether we saw the Glaciers. But if not, then I saw the snow that was still covering the Glaciers in late July. I'd say that's close enough.

PS, I think the flowers were pretty amazing.

10. Do a canoe trip

Did another day trip in a canoe with G. But this truly earned its check mark after a 3-day trip this summer.

13. Complete a picture-a-day assignment

My last week of pictures got deleted in the computer troubles of fall 2011, but I'm still checking this one off.

18. Find/Make an occasion to wear those 4-inch stiletto black boots

20. Attend my sister’s graduation

23. Give yoga a second chance

25. Give more boldly

I've upped my giving to a full tithe. (I'd slacked up as I started getting more money, but also being responsible for more of my finances.) There's only been one time this year where I wondered how other grad students afford to do something that I wanted to but wouldn't commit to because of cost. When I realized that their annual cost was less than the amount I was donating, I decided I was okay with my decision.

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It's easy to say that many of the things on the list are things I'd do anyway. Paying off student loans. Attending graduation. Going to Glacier. Those were things that WERE GOING TO HAPPEN. The same way that I hope 3. Finish collecting degrees is going to get done.

But I'm more aware of the things that I'd probably do. The canoe trip. The solo shows. Wearing those crazy heels. Things that I'd been meaning to do, sort of. Things that I'd like to do, so I thought. But the things that I wouldn't necessarily do if I hadn't told myself I would.

I always hated the goal setting lessons in school. When they made us set something I'd usually choose something ridiculously easy, "I'm going to finish this sweater by the time I graduate...from college." (Said in the fall of my senior year of high school when the sweater was half done after, what, 7 weeks?) Maybe I'd say something ridicuously hard, I'm going to sell 800 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, but I wouldn't actually mean it.

It's the same way that I used to feel towards resolutions. The "I'm going to change" mentality the media portrayed wasn't me at all.

But this list has been the perfect nudge for me. The reminder that I want to do something. The prompt of the courage to go ahead.