In 2015, I resolved to:
1.) Stop working so much.
I think I did okay in this area. I still put in many hours and got ridiculously stressed by work at times. But looking back, I think the bigger intent of the resolution was to not let my job take over my life and to start looking for meaning and goals outside of my career. This year I certainly took some strides in that direction, mainly through the move to Denver, which was entirely a lifestyle-driven decision and one that involved me resigning from ThoughtWorks at one point - luckily, we were able to work things out and I'm still with the company (and very happy to still be a ThoughtWorker). In 2015 I also took on new types of challenging work both for my clients and internally within the company, so I feel good about that and I want to continue pushing myself out of my comfort zone. B.
2.) Find and promote females who are doing awesome things, including reading 8 books by female authors this year.
I read 6 books authored by women last year. They were:
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling's pen name)
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
Reflecting back, choosing to read books written by women seemed like a good idea in theory but was a strange and to some degree, uncomfortable resolution in practice. I felt more restricted by it than like I was learning or hearing more about women. I think that a better way to go about this is to pick some genres and to read books about women or women's issues, of which only Lean In and The Invention of Wings focused on (and to some degree, Mindy Kaling's book). I suspect most of those would be authored by women as well, and would yield more meaningful results.
In terms of supporting women elsewhere, in 2015 I joined an organization called Chicago Books to Women in Prison where I volunteered a few times a month on weekends. As the name describes, the group sends used or donated books to incarcerated women. I encountered upon the organization after reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and finding myself desperately wanting to do something to help out those who are incarcerated. I had a wonderful time volunteering with CBWP and organized a book drive in our ThoughtWorks Chicago office. I miss the group of volunteers there - I need to find something like that to get involved in here in Denver! See this year's resolutions. B.
3.) Run a marathon.
I did this! And without injury or being completely turned off from running (though I did take a nice two-month break from running afterwards). A+.
In 2016, I resolve to:
Read and write more. In 2015 I read and blogged less than I ever have before, especially in the latter half of the year. I grew to view both activities as chores rather than hobbies. Much easier to turn on Netflix and veg out to an episode of Dexter. I also feel like as I am growing older, the range of what I blog about is very much narrowing into just the realm of accomplishments and vacations - I used to blog more about recipes, movies and books, restaurants, or just whatever the hell was on my mind. I miss the pleasure of reading for fun and writing or showcasing goofy things in this blog. I resolve to read 12 books this year and to blog at least 3 times a month in 2016.
Make friends & get involved in the Denver area. Okay, let me just say that making friends in your late 20's is weird and difficult. Without some consistent activity or classes to bring you together, it can be really hard to summon the time and energy to form a meaningful relationship with someone you barely know. While we have gotten plenty of social interaction from friends coming in town, I don't want to rely on out-of-state friends as an excuse not to make new ones here in Denver. This year, I definitely want to get more plugged in to my new home town - joining a run club, or finding another volunteer position, or even making myself a regular at the neighborhood bar - and to make some local connections.
Just two resolutions this time, and approximately a million others floating around in my head that I'd probably like to get done but don't necessarily want to commit to. 2015 was an awesome year for me and I think 2016 will be even better. Life is good!
1.) Stop working so much.
I think I did okay in this area. I still put in many hours and got ridiculously stressed by work at times. But looking back, I think the bigger intent of the resolution was to not let my job take over my life and to start looking for meaning and goals outside of my career. This year I certainly took some strides in that direction, mainly through the move to Denver, which was entirely a lifestyle-driven decision and one that involved me resigning from ThoughtWorks at one point - luckily, we were able to work things out and I'm still with the company (and very happy to still be a ThoughtWorker). In 2015 I also took on new types of challenging work both for my clients and internally within the company, so I feel good about that and I want to continue pushing myself out of my comfort zone. B.
2.) Find and promote females who are doing awesome things, including reading 8 books by female authors this year.
I read 6 books authored by women last year. They were:
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling's pen name)
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
Reflecting back, choosing to read books written by women seemed like a good idea in theory but was a strange and to some degree, uncomfortable resolution in practice. I felt more restricted by it than like I was learning or hearing more about women. I think that a better way to go about this is to pick some genres and to read books about women or women's issues, of which only Lean In and The Invention of Wings focused on (and to some degree, Mindy Kaling's book). I suspect most of those would be authored by women as well, and would yield more meaningful results.
In terms of supporting women elsewhere, in 2015 I joined an organization called Chicago Books to Women in Prison where I volunteered a few times a month on weekends. As the name describes, the group sends used or donated books to incarcerated women. I encountered upon the organization after reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and finding myself desperately wanting to do something to help out those who are incarcerated. I had a wonderful time volunteering with CBWP and organized a book drive in our ThoughtWorks Chicago office. I miss the group of volunteers there - I need to find something like that to get involved in here in Denver! See this year's resolutions. B.
3.) Run a marathon.
I did this! And without injury or being completely turned off from running (though I did take a nice two-month break from running afterwards). A+.
In 2016, I resolve to:
Read and write more. In 2015 I read and blogged less than I ever have before, especially in the latter half of the year. I grew to view both activities as chores rather than hobbies. Much easier to turn on Netflix and veg out to an episode of Dexter. I also feel like as I am growing older, the range of what I blog about is very much narrowing into just the realm of accomplishments and vacations - I used to blog more about recipes, movies and books, restaurants, or just whatever the hell was on my mind. I miss the pleasure of reading for fun and writing or showcasing goofy things in this blog. I resolve to read 12 books this year and to blog at least 3 times a month in 2016.
Make friends & get involved in the Denver area. Okay, let me just say that making friends in your late 20's is weird and difficult. Without some consistent activity or classes to bring you together, it can be really hard to summon the time and energy to form a meaningful relationship with someone you barely know. While we have gotten plenty of social interaction from friends coming in town, I don't want to rely on out-of-state friends as an excuse not to make new ones here in Denver. This year, I definitely want to get more plugged in to my new home town - joining a run club, or finding another volunteer position, or even making myself a regular at the neighborhood bar - and to make some local connections.
Just two resolutions this time, and approximately a million others floating around in my head that I'd probably like to get done but don't necessarily want to commit to. 2015 was an awesome year for me and I think 2016 will be even better. Life is good!
No comments:
Post a Comment