I am revising a post I had that rehashed 2009 and forecasted 2010. This past year has seemed very long, but perhaps "long" just means "eventful." You can scan my 2009 Archives for specifics, as I have been relatively active on this blog this year. The biggest thing that happened this year, which was left surprisingly undocumented (probably due to privacy), was my sister's wedding. It was the first wedding in the family, so now I've got my first brother-in-law and auntie prospects. =)
I'm counting down the hours until I will be done with my current job for good. This is the third time I've had to "pack up and leave" this year (did I already mention how LONG this year has been?). As they say, I am sooooo over it here, but in an effort not to burn bridges, I will say no more about that.
The biggest lesson I've learned this year, one that I will still be trying to learn and practice in 2010, is to relax and enjoy the ride of life. I have always been plagued by worry -- worrying about money and especially what my parents thought of me. That worry and guilt kept me from doing so many things, but I'm nearly 25 now. My life belongs to me. So as long as I know that my parents don't have specific things they need me to do, I am not going to sweat pleasing them. In fact, I don't think that staying away from things that might make me happy would be pleasing, anyway. Over time, they have accepted and/or supported my endeavors, which is what parents should do, right?
In general, I want to have more fun when I race in 2010. I know I often come into races with an ache, not enough sleep, or some other factors that make them seem like a chore, but that's only because I was putting pressure on myself to do well. First of all, doing all those races is already quite a feat. I often forget that it is, until people bring it up in this "OMG, you're crazy" tone. Secondly, as I have said many times, running is only a hobby of mine, an excuse to go places, and a motivation to keep my overall fitness. Before running, I am an aspiring doctorate and a burgeoning career-woman, as well as a daughter, big/little sister, and girlfriend. My last race of 2009 was great in that I put most of those worries behind me and just ran with the intention to finish and put no real pressure on myself. I just wanted to get away from the stresses of life and have a good time. And I did pretty darn well.
I've come a long way since Y2K, and I feel old just being able to remember the night 1999 became 2000. In the past decade, I graduated from high school, college, and got my masters and have worked many odd jobs (and ran 14 half-marathons, 4 marathons, and handful of smaller races... but have only had 2 boyfriends). I've grown up in many ways, as is to be expected. Come next decade, I expect that I will be in my mid-thirties, possibly "married with children," and frown upon people calling me "doc."
But I'm getting ahead of myself. 2010 will be yet another busy year, and an important one at that. My main goals (besides what I mentioned earlier) are pretty obvious: progress in school and career. Yes, the "management-by-objectives" paradigm seated within me is whincing at these "non-SMART" goals (i.e., not specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, or time-bound). Other things I want to do are to keep racing, read more non-management books, become more aware of the world, watch less "junk TV," cook more, and take better care of my health. These are all things I had been doing in 2009 and just want to intensify in the upcoming year.
So I guess this is it, 2009. I feel like since this is the end of a decade, that a true new chapter of life is beginning. I am inspired to face 2010 and all the challenges it has in store for me.
Speaking of which, I need to go buy my textbooks.
I'm counting down the hours until I will be done with my current job for good. This is the third time I've had to "pack up and leave" this year (did I already mention how LONG this year has been?). As they say, I am sooooo over it here, but in an effort not to burn bridges, I will say no more about that.
The biggest lesson I've learned this year, one that I will still be trying to learn and practice in 2010, is to relax and enjoy the ride of life. I have always been plagued by worry -- worrying about money and especially what my parents thought of me. That worry and guilt kept me from doing so many things, but I'm nearly 25 now. My life belongs to me. So as long as I know that my parents don't have specific things they need me to do, I am not going to sweat pleasing them. In fact, I don't think that staying away from things that might make me happy would be pleasing, anyway. Over time, they have accepted and/or supported my endeavors, which is what parents should do, right?
In general, I want to have more fun when I race in 2010. I know I often come into races with an ache, not enough sleep, or some other factors that make them seem like a chore, but that's only because I was putting pressure on myself to do well. First of all, doing all those races is already quite a feat. I often forget that it is, until people bring it up in this "OMG, you're crazy" tone. Secondly, as I have said many times, running is only a hobby of mine, an excuse to go places, and a motivation to keep my overall fitness. Before running, I am an aspiring doctorate and a burgeoning career-woman, as well as a daughter, big/little sister, and girlfriend. My last race of 2009 was great in that I put most of those worries behind me and just ran with the intention to finish and put no real pressure on myself. I just wanted to get away from the stresses of life and have a good time. And I did pretty darn well.
I've come a long way since Y2K, and I feel old just being able to remember the night 1999 became 2000. In the past decade, I graduated from high school, college, and got my masters and have worked many odd jobs (and ran 14 half-marathons, 4 marathons, and handful of smaller races... but have only had 2 boyfriends). I've grown up in many ways, as is to be expected. Come next decade, I expect that I will be in my mid-thirties, possibly "married with children," and frown upon people calling me "doc."
But I'm getting ahead of myself. 2010 will be yet another busy year, and an important one at that. My main goals (besides what I mentioned earlier) are pretty obvious: progress in school and career. Yes, the "management-by-objectives" paradigm seated within me is whincing at these "non-SMART" goals (i.e., not specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, or time-bound). Other things I want to do are to keep racing, read more non-management books, become more aware of the world, watch less "junk TV," cook more, and take better care of my health. These are all things I had been doing in 2009 and just want to intensify in the upcoming year.
So I guess this is it, 2009. I feel like since this is the end of a decade, that a true new chapter of life is beginning. I am inspired to face 2010 and all the challenges it has in store for me.
Speaking of which, I need to go buy my textbooks.
Happy New Year Juj! Here's to another great running year and to a new job. Let's go out there and conquer all those 2010 goals!
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