2014 Resolutions

Happy New Year! I'm excited that it's finally 2014 and I can leave the hot mess that was 2013 behind me.
   
Like just about everyone ever, I make a list of New Year's resolutions each December and then promptly break most of them by the end of January. Some of my 2012 resolutions included laugh every day (hard to break this one at least), tone abs (oops), read 75 books (I only made it to 65), and be accepted to UCDC for fall (yesss!) and 2013 had become fraternity president (nope), tone abs (again, oops), work out twice a week (nope), lose 10 pounds (this one actually happened!), and go to the Middle East over the summer (another yesss!).
 
Here are several of this year's resolutions... we'll see how this batch fares!

1. Blog twice a week
I blogged regularly in middle and high school, but also had long sprees without a single blog entry. College has been kind of rough on my blogging "career" so it would be great to get back into the habit of posting regularly, especially with how fun it is to go back and re-read old posts. (I was very good about blogging in DC and Egypt, though!)

2. Go to church monthly
I'd love to get back in touch with my faith this year, since it really took a hit in 2013. I work at the Mondavi Center a lot of Sundays but I think I can at least make it to church once a month. Now to go back to church-shopping in Davis, which was such a nightmare my freshman year...
 
3. Tone abs
Yes, this resolution is back. No, I haven't had nice abs since high school... I can still dream!
  
4. Go to all classes
I was great about going to all of my classes until my apartment burned down last February... and once you lose the habit of always going to class, it can be way too easy to justify missing a lecture here and there. Realistically I don't think I'll make it to every single class in winter and spring quarter (especially if I spend a weekend visiting law schools and have to miss my 2-3pm Friday lecture), but I can at least try!
 
5. Have a one-on-one meal with a friend each week
Being in a fraternity and having such an enormous fraternity family spoils me - there are always people who are down to grab lunch or dinner with you! But this gets a little harder when we aren't in the middle of a rush quarter, and I can't limit myself to just fraternity friends, so I'd like to spend time getting to know as many people as possible while I'm still at Davis. I know that I most enjoy one-on-one conversations (and can be a bit too quiet in larger groups), so I think this is an amazing way to really connect with people that I might otherwise miss out on!
 
6. Go to Europe over summer
I've been dying to go to Europe for years and have always wanted to do a post-grad trip. I'm doing whatever I can to ensure that I can spend at least a couple of weeks traveling in Europe this year! It might be with another Davis summer abroad program (like Egypt, minus being evacuated). It might be backpacking with friends. It might even be through a tour company like EF College Break. I'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out!
 
7. Be accepted to 4+ T-14 law schools
This one is out of my control, but I'm really hoping for options when my acceptances (or waitlists/denials) come and it's time to decide where I'm going to law school. I'm applying to 9 T-14 schools (10 if I add in Cornell later in January), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best here.
 
8. Figure out who I am and who I want to become
November 2013 was a month of losing myself. December 2013 was a month of realizing how lost I was and trying to find myself. While I'm slowly starting to learn who I am again, I really want to spend 2014 figuring out who Christine is and who I want her to be. I used to be a girl with dreams, passion, and too much ambition for her own good. Now I'm a young woman who has seen some of these dreams fulfilled and others destroyed, and who questions her passion and if her ambition is enough to carry her or will lead to her downfall. In the words of e. e. cummings, "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." Hopefully 2014 will be a year of courage and self-discovery for me.