DivingBoard

For me, the best New Year's resolution is to strive to be closer to the best version of yourself. Yeah, yeah, yeah a little self-helpey, but I truly believe in this.  Often, I fail to live up to this promise and when this happens, I try to remind myself that it's not always about the big breakthroughs but the little victories of the day-to-day which ultimately fortify our selves in the making.  So cheers to winning some battles, and in 2009, here's how I celebrated:

-danced with eyes closed to good reggae every Tuesday

-read trashy magazines on the beach

-road trip to Santa Barbara, blasting MJ, for wine tasting and to find Neverland

-summertime with cousins and nieces and nephews, marveling at how much they've grown and the passage of time

-laughed with my students

-sipped strong coffee curled up on my couch as the morning sun flooded into my apartment.

-deep breaths

-karaoke with friends

-happy hour truth or dare

-vodka tonics with lots of lemon

-smiled at strangers

-pedicures

-pilates

-marveled at British architecture

-reconnected with long-lost friends

-got lost in my own thoughts

-girls' nights out

-flirted with boys

-hung out with my brothers doing nothing and laughing the whole time

-sang in the shower

-started writing my diss

-baked snickerdoodles

-watched Glee religiously

-started blogging

-got pretty for dates

-watched lots of films

-extended birthday celebration into birthMONTH celebration

-bought gifts for friends

-made new friends

-forgave and let go

-laughed like crazy

-loved intensely

This was definitely the year of many battles fought on the ground, down and dirty.  But then this makes emerging from the fray feel like a real accomplishment and the small victories all the more sweet.  So Happy New Year, dear friends, family and readers! I hope 2009 brought some joys into your life, no matter how small.  And as we enter this new decade, I wish you all the very best of what you can give and get from the world at large! Happy New Year!