Happy new year!

A few weeks ago my dad received an e-mail "resolution handbook" and gave me a copy. I highlighted a few of my favorites:

HEALTH

1. Drink plenty of water

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a beggar

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees/plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants

4. Live with the 3 E's - energy, enthusiasm, and empathy

PERSONALITY

1. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about

2. Don't hav enegative thoughts or things you cannot control

3. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip

4. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

5. Forget issues of the past. They can ruin your present happiness.

6. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

7. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

8. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

SOCIETY

1. Forgive everyone for everything

2. What other people think of you is none of your business

3. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

LIFE

1. However good or bad a situation is, it will change

2. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up

Looking back on 2010:

I got into college in 2010. I went to prom in 2010. I worked hard in the areas that I love in 2010. I graduated high school in 2010. I made new friends in 2010. I worked my way up to a 3.9 GPA in 2010. I got into musical theater programs in 2010. I got a scholarship (or two) in 2010. I made the right college decision in 2010. I made money in 2010. I spent money on things that made me happy in 2010. I was there for friends when they needed me in 2010. I realized how important family is to me in 2010. I told my parents and my sister I love them in 2010. I went to California in the summer in 2010. I met Tinkerbell in 2010. I learned about myself as a dancer, singer, and actress in 2010. I harmonized in 2010. I danced at my final dance recital and became known as "number 23" in 2010. I got my first college call back in 2010. I celebrated christmas in 2010. Santa came to my house in 2010. I was nice to people in 2010. I inspired people in 2010. I was inspired by others in 2010. I got really tan and then watched my tan fade away in 2010. I became a beach blond in 2010. I laughed in 2010. I smiled in 2010. I made others smile in 2010. I ate healthy in 2010. I ate foods that are yummy in 2010. I loved and was loved in 2010.

2010 had it's ups and downs but looking back on it all it was a pretty good year. Nothing can be perfect, but here's to making 2011 even better and filled with more happiness than 2010!

Being home makes me think

What happens when I begin to feel like school is my home and my house is a place where I can see family and old friends? I never thought I'd feel more at home anywhere else than my own house but for the first time in my life it's actually easier to be at school. I love spending time with my family and it's nice to see the people I went to high school with but it's hard. It makes me think about how much is changing and how quickly it's all happening. I'm happy with what is going on in my life but sometimes I miss the way things used to be. I miss the people I used to hang out with. I miss doing the Nutcracker. I miss going to dance every day after school and all day on Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM and feeling like I wanted to drop dead at the end of it all. When I'm at school I don't think about this stuff. I have my family and good group of friends at school. I feel like I know those people so well even though we've only spent one semester together. I'd trust them with anything. I work hard and go to classes. I have fun back in the dorms at night and on weekends. I live my life at school and don't look back. None of this type of stuff bothers me. I don't even think about it. But being home in my room, in this town where so many memories took place is like a trigger. It makes me miss the life I had when I used to live here. It makes me sorta sad...

Being at school is easy. (I know I'm repeating myself but whatever that's just how my mind thinks.) I find it easier to move on with my life and adapt to what college has to offer. I smile when I think about high school and what I did during that time in my life. I don't get sad. I don't miss it. Before going off to college I knew things would change. I knew it would become harder and harder to maintain contact with my friends from home but you don't REALLY know until it happens. When I was in high school I felt so safe and secure. I had my group of friends and I knew nobody was going anywhere. Being in college is starting to feel more like the rest of my life. Loosing contact with people I NEVER thought I'd loose contact with from high school has shown me that you never know what's going to happen. You can make plans and plans and then suddenly all your plans can get changed.

I wish I could feel so okay with everything when I'm at home - the way I am at school. I want to just be at peace with everything. Let it be the past. Let it be good, happy memories. Not let it haunt me when I come home. Maybe that should be my new years resolution??...