Happy New Year! (yay! 2008!)

It's a new year! yay! I love new things...new clothes, new opportunities and of course, new years! It is a time in which I can forget about the things that have happened in the past and focus on what will happen in the future. I feel like it's a chance to begin anew and a chance to regain one's motivation and drive to achieve and do great things. Of course, new year also meant that one should make resolutions. This is a low point for me. I have to be honest that almost all of my resolutions which I have made in the past 3 years that I have been in college have been the same and that is because I have NEVER achieved my goals for the year. Why's that? Mostly because the fire and motivation I feel so strongly of in the beginning year die out after the initial month of excitement. Nevertheless, I feel that it is my duty to report my resolution for the year 2008 again and use my entire being to fulfill them.

(in no particular order)

1. Read. If I have to write about one complaint I have about MIT is that i have become completely isolated in my small world of psets, exams and projects. Rarely have I shown interest in current events and international policies that I have been so excited about once. In the sudden realization that I am about to leave the safe haven of school and learning to step out into a world filled with experts, I intend to become an informed citizen. Specifically, I will set a specific number of hours each week dedicated to readings of magazines and books as well as attending guest lectures. I must widen my horizon so I can make valuable contributions to society.

2. Focus. It's so easy to get wrapped up in meaningless and thrilling events that are happening in my life everyday. However, I've realized that no one is successful within any field unless that person is willing to take the time to become an expert in a particular field. This means giving up on the things that do not contribute to the advancement of knowledge. For instance, socializing with friends used to be a priority for me, but too much of that activity can be detrimental to other parts of my life. I guess the better title for this is prioritize / organize.

3. Be Consistent (or follow a schedule). One of my biggest problems is that I have a tendency to make lots of schedules and then ignore them in practice. This new year resolution basically means that I should learn to set goals every week and then stop at nothing until I achieve them.

4. Be Consistent with God. Specifically, I meant that my resolution is to go to (at least) church every Sunday...basically work the time to be spent with God into my schedule and keep it.

Pretty simple right? But rather abstract resolutions I would say. I mean these are huge concepts! (like consistency, how to measure?), but I believe if I can set goals and schedules every week, I will be able to achieve about all of my resolutions. Wish me luck!