It’s February. January both flew by much too quickly and dragged on for far too long all at the same time. I kind of treated January like the first pancake, goals-wise, in that I didn’t make any. I didn’t really even have time, since I ended up moving suddenly! That’s a whole other story though. Back to goals for 31…
First off, I’ll start with my word for the year. Though picking a word for the year has become quite trendy recently, I was inspired by my friend Rachael, who’s been doing this for years, and chooses her word on her birthday, for the start of her year. I loved that so much, so I started doing it, too. This year’s word is: spirit.
I wanted a word that emanated energy, positivity, and health, and decided on spirit because it has so many definitions. Some of my Merriam-Webster favorites are:
- the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person
- the activating or essential principle influencing a person
- an inclination, impulse, or tendency of a specified kind
- a special attitude or frame of mind
- the feeling, quality, or disposition characterizing something
With that in mind, here are my goals for 31.
- Take guitar lessons. I’ve been trying to learn guitar for over ten years now, and the only reason I even know some chords is because of a class I took in community college one summer semester. With all the resources I have at my disposal, it’s time to stop making excuses.
- Go to the gym at least once a week. I finally joined a gym again a few months ago, but my regular attendance only occurred for a couple weeks. Obviously I should be exercising more than once a week, but I’m purposely starting out small.
- Develop a skin care routine. Last year, my cousin Lily and I stood in the makeup aisle at Target, as unfamiliar (to me) goops and goos and tools loomed in front of us. “What is this?” I’d asked her, as I picked up an oddly shaped brush. A lady in the aisle near us gave me side-eye and smirked. “It’s like I’m an alien and you’re teaching me how to be a human girl!” I (more subtly) remarked. The point of sharing this dialogue was to demonstrate that I know next to nothing about skin and beauty, and now that I’m 31, I’ve been noticing other fellow 30-somethings commenting on how they wished they’d picked up better habits earlier. Too late for that, but I guess there’s no time like the present.
- Stick to my vitamins routine. In my quest to head down the path of better health, I discovered my new daily multi-vitamin solution. Ritual sends you your month’s supply of vitamins in the best millennial-catered packaging. I’ve been taking these for almost a month now, and I’m determined to keep it up.
- Get up earlier to better utilize my mornings. Most anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person. And many also know that I’ve been attempting to become a morning person for many years now, and my efforts have all mostly fallen short. The few times I do get up early are so enjoyable, though. I drink coffee, I read or write or pray or journal, and enjoy the quiet and calm of the morning time. So, here we go again. This year, I want to start waking up earlier to take advantage of the time that I’ve instead used to half-sleep whilst snoozing my many alarms.
Here’s to 31.
I’m in Boston these next few days to attend a wedding, so I figured, what better time than to write about when I officially left. I’ve been putting off writing this, because something about posting it will make it feel real, like I really did drive away and I no longer live here. Obviously, whether I post this or not, it is all real. I really did drive away and I no longer live here. But, there’s just something about putting it out there into the world.
On May 30, I packed up my entire life into The Yaris. Amy came over, and Joey and Katie got up to see me off, as well. The weather matched my emotions perfectly. The air was crisp and the sun was bright, and I felt light and happy and ready for this new journey. I drove through Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio that day. Halfway through the drive, it started getting super foggy, and then it started to down pour. This all happened right around the time that I was asking myself if I had made a mistake. Did I leave too soon? Was it the right time? What was I thinking? Rain and tears fell together. It was very therapeutic, really. 
Almost ten hours later, I arrived in Cleveland. Cleveland is so cool. Granted, my judgment of the city may be a bit blemished due to all the emotions and excitement surrounding my big move, but I loved it. I stayed in 
I had what I was ready to dub my 
The replies and memes provided some entertainment, and I was so glad that I had woken up to witness this monumental moment in our history. Ha.
