Happy new year! Here we go again…

Normally when I reflect on the past year, I have so many feelings. This new year’s eve I wasn’t feeling particularly reflective, wistful or nostalgic. I wasn’t feeling much of anything, to be honest. 2015 was a pretty good year, but I don’t mind its passing. Still, I can easily point to the bright spots.

Relationships

Despite being majorly stressed out and heads down in my studies nearly all year, it was a good year for my relationships. I made new friends from the programming classes I took, rekindled old friendships, and deepened my existing relationships. I am really thankful for growth in this area in 2015.

Health

I gave up on wanting to do a chinup, but through the magic of running and strength training, I actually got kinda buff/thin in 2015, getting down to high school weight, which was a bit of a shock. Emotionally I was doing well, and had found a bit of stability and happiness in the pursuit of a goal. The Wellbutrin didn’t hurt either, not gonna lie. Oh, and I also finally got my wisdom teeth out. It was my first surgery!

Work

In the spring I pushed even harder to incorporate coding into my job, and that opened a few doors for me. Eventually I walked out one of those doors and on to another adventure (okay that was cheesey but I had to). I saved up enough money to quit my job and enroll in a coding bootcamp. Where that goes, well we’ll see. I’m trying to stay optimistic.

Travel

In 2015 I visited Burma, Austin, Shanghai, Tokyo, New Orleans, along with a few short trips in the Bay Area.  Embarrassingly, I did not make my resolution of seeing my family 4-5x in 2015. I did not see them at all. But you know what, my family can come and visit me too! I’m choosing not to feel guilty about that.

2016

So, what do you do for resolutions when you aren’t feeling inspired, guilty or fat?

• I want to finish my program and get a job. That’s not so much a resolution as a necessity. IT WILL HAPPEN. IT HAS TO HAPPEN.
• In order to find a job, I’ll need to network with the programming community here and make new connections. That said, what’s really important to me is to maintain and grow my close relationships (friends, family, partner). I’ve been really out of touch and engrossed in my own world. I can do better.
• 2015 was the year of me being too busy to put any effort into my style. I knew that I needed to step up my game when coworkers started noticing whenever I dressed the tiniest bit nicer. Wardrobe makeover!
• While we’re talking style… I’m sick of my apartment and everything in it. I’m a grown-up. I want my house to look like Pinterest, damn it! I know that I shouldn’t be spending money, but I’ve set a modest budget to upgrade and redecorate. I’ve started by reading “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering an Organizing”, getting new bath mats, buying a rice cooker that plays “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and researching how to paint furniture. Those are all Pinterest trends, right?

Okay, that was really long. 2016, let’s do this!