This might be a touch early for the New Year seeing as it is still 2014 but I need to write down my resolutions for 2015 so I figured what better way to hold myself accountable than to tell other people, even complete strangers, my goals for the future?

Below you will find typical resolutions intermixed with several that are found on my mental “Impossible List” [I first heard about this type of list here: http://bit.ly/U5fPGM] and some that I simply felt compelled to put down because they will push me out of my comfort zone.  My track record with resolutions is decent considering the fact that most people I know tend to only adhere to their declarations for about a week. Usually, I can make it through a month or two at least.  I’ve made every kind of resolution – the “Get Fit” one, the “Eat Healthier” one, the “Study Better/Stress Less” one, and even the “Make More Money” one.

However, there’s something inherently wrong about these types of goals.  Well, for one thing they are traditional, average, and they’re goals, not resolutions.  A resolution requires an attitude of resoluteness to enact it.  I’m not saying that fitness doesn’t require dedication or fidelity, that’s why you’ll find fitness goals on my 2015 list too, but I needed something beyond the ordinary.

What’s extraordinary to me may not seem special to you, and that’s okay.  I accept that fact, but we all have things that we only dream of accomplishing, and no matter what those aims are I believe that they demand credibility simply due to their existence.

Without further ado, here are my current resolutions for 2015:

*This list will most definitely be added to as the year progresses.

My Blog

Brand it. Prioritize it. Update it weekly. Create a face for myself on the Internet and allow my personal voice to help me establish myself online using SeekEachLight (SEL) as a medium for my personal musings. Broaden the spectrum of SEL to help others by discussing life, change, school, work, and everything else that makes up life. Be honest. Be true. Be myself. Customize it and make it my own. Concentrate on quality, content, and contemplation.

Be Healthier 

Laugh more. Walk up the stairs. Stand still for ten minutes a day and just breathe. Keep better posture. Smile more. Pack fruit. Eat said fruit. Turn away from the vending machines. Play more. Run into the wind and then fall back into its embrace. Dance. Seriously, shake it off! *Brownie points if I do it to this sick beat – http://bit.ly/1zsrYDb. Sleep more. Meditate. Breathe. Live in the present – do not be controlled by the past or the future.

Listen

Really listen. Don’t think about your answer or response while others are talking – appreciate their words, take them in, and think about them.  Listen to your friend relate the tale of her heartbreak, or the story he has told you thirty million times before – appreciate it. Listen closer. Listen better. Learn to comprehend and not just hear.

Be Stalwart

This past year I have let people down. Employers, friends, professors, myself – we all let someone down every now and then, but I’ve never gotten used to how it makes me feel. So, for this coming year I am going to work towards becoming Stalwart Sam.  I want to be even more reliable, I want to exceed the expectations [http://bit.ly/1JYY0iq] everywhere and in everything I do.  I will no longer just pick and choose – if I accept the responsibility for something I want to do it right. I don’t want to say that I will never let anyone down again, because it might happen; the odds are against me since life isn’t perfect but I want to make it come pretty damn close. I won’t settle anymore and that’s a promise I will strive to keep.

Write

Write often. Write on deadlines. Meet said deadlines. Write poetry. Write outlines. Write short stories. Write about death, love, confusion, and loss. Write about happiness, faith, friendship, and the mind. Write because words only have meaning when they are employed by the correct mediums and deployed into the world with purpose.

Learn

Be less afraid. Ask questions. There are no dumb questions. Remember your scholastic goals. Work smarter. Study more. Read more. Rewrite. Edit. Rewrite. Submit. Know your limits. Learn Italian. Push your boundaries. Learn Welsh. Expand your mind. You can never learn it all, but you can darn well try to anyway.

Be a better: 

Sister.

Employee.

Big.

Greek.

Writer.

Friend.

Daughter.

HUMS CHUM.

Godmother.

Reader.

Student.

Christian.

Catholic.

Person.

I plan on going into more depth about each of these roles in my future posts, for now though, these are my current goals for next year.  I want 2015 to be the year that the Sam I want to be became a reality.