Check Up On It

It's the last day of 2012! Errybody's status is rocking info about the SUPER SICK party they're attending and I am loving the vibes that come each year on today and tomorrow's date. There is something wonderful about celebrating a fresh start. About starting clean. About starting over. About trying again. (And who can resist a blog post with a title taken from this Beyonce song?!)

This year, on January 1st I made a list of 5 New Year's Resolutions or goals for the following 365 days. Since today is the last day of the year, I wanted to look back and see how I did. (Can you see now how I'm very goal-oriented? Love those lists.) Looking back, there were times I lost focus, and times where I definitely did the opposite of what I wanted to do, but I am generally happy with what I set out to do and how I worked at my goals. Let's review:

Goal #1: Listen to my own body.
Goal #2: Stay Open.
Goal #3: Practice the best kind of love.
Goal #4: Be brave.
Goal #5: Cut myself some slack.

I would say I failed miserably on Goal #1, except for the fact that I have come lightyears in this category from the dismal food and sleep habits I employed in college. I still have a ways to go, as I often sleepwalk into school after staying up too late the night before, and the fact that I go into hibernation mode when it gets cold outside needs addressing. Goals #2 and 4 are those that I am most proud of. I've stayed really open minded and (I think) brave with my application process, acceptance, and work through Teach For America as well as my move to the city of Chicago. I didn't know where or how (or if) I'd ever find good new friends after my graduation dispersed those closest to me, but God definitely showed me his providence yet again in that area. Goals #3 and 5 also showed a lot of improvement, but are things that I need to continue to work on. Learning to love others above myself and learning to not be so hard on myself are two areas that always need work for me. But hey, it's good for me to realize that I'm inching along with a lot of help from God and others.

It's important to me that I continue to do this kind of stuff. A lot of people see resolutions as somewhat silly and shallow, but to me they are really important "north stars" that keep me headed in the right direction. I like the person I am today so much more than the person I used to be. When I think back to freshman-in-college Anna, I almost laugh at the self-importance I touted around. Let's keep moving forward, shall we? Tomorrow will feature a new post with my goals for 2013...hopefully I get to talk with some of you about your goals too!

And since I love Zooey and you, here is another re-post of her beautiful voice singing a song perfect for tonight. I'm currently in Cali with a college friend reunion and very much looking forward to waking up with a fresh outlook on 1/1/2013. Cheers!