Ah, New Year's Resolutions - self-administered pressure to be cooler, nicer, harder, better, faster, stronger, longer, fatter, bigger, more erect, etc. The futility of such vague aspirations for personal betterment is recognised year on year, but here I am, in January of 2012*, with a carefully written list of goals for the year ahead, alongside every other optimistic sucker who makes arbitrary calendar-based changes to their lives. Whatever - suckers united!
New Year's Resolutions
1. I am henceforth banniated from snoozing my alarm clock. This is going to be a killer, because heaven knows I love a snooze, but I need to regulate my sleeping pattern somehow, and I'm sleeping through the hours of the morning I could use for work, which is a waste. You snooze, you lose, etc.
2. As advised by Emma, I am to stop apologising so much. Now, I've been told to do this before, and haven't quite succeeded, but it's worth a try. One of my biggest aggravations is people being embarrassed by my behaviour, and as Em so rightly pointed out, I'm one of them! Apologising when I've done something wrong is, of course, still necessary, but I'm going to endeavour to stop apologising for facets of my personality that are just me being my preposterous self.
3. Take up dancing again. It's been five years since I stopped, and by heavens I miss it. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights can entirely be blamed for the resurgence of dancey feelings.
4. While I manage to read a decent number of articles and blogs, I've found it difficult to do much recreational fiction reading lately, possibly because reading for hours every day from textbooks means I'm reluctant to sit down and read some heavy-duty stuff in the evenings. However, I have given myself a reading project which I hope will suit my circumstances.
I'm going to read, and re-read, some classic children's literature - books I read as a kid, and those I missed out on first time around. I'm hoping to develop a new appreciation for the books I so loved when I was a nipper, and to be able to read something a little lighter in my free time.
I've been buying all the books I can from charity shops, and currently have a reading list that consists of the following:
Roald Dahl - Matilda
Roald Dahl - George's Marvellous Medicine
Lewis Carrol - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
Jacqueline Wilson - Double Act
Jacqueline Wilson - The Lottie Project
Judy Blume - Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself
J. M. Barrie - Peter Pan
Those should keep me going to start with, and I'll most likely pick up more as I go on. Any recommendations of childhood favourites are very welcome!
And there we are. Come at me, 2012 - I'll shuffle-ball-change at you and swipe you in the face with my copy of Peter Pan, all after a glorious night's sleep. And I won't even apologise.
*ahahaha WHAT. When did that happen?
I used to really love the Paula Danziger books as a child.
ReplyDelete