It is nearly the end of 2009. It didn’t sneak up on us. It came barreling at full speed since about June. I’ve had a hard time keeping up this year. Everything has moved at double or triple speed. It can’t really be 10 years since we were all afraid the world would come crashing to a halt with Y2K.
It is at this time nearly all of us try to do two things. We reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the new. Here are some of mine (though not at all an exhaustive list for either):
Reflections
This has been the year of “the struggle.” Some years go by smoothly. You could almost sleep your way through it and everything would still operate at top efficiency. Other years, it is a constant pounding of the pavement to get anything done. It is the ‘quicksand’ Falco talked about in “The Replacements.” One thing goes bad. Then two. You try harder, but a third goes bad. Pretty soon your struggling through quicksand as nearly nothing works no matter how hard you try. This has sort of been one of those years both in the classroom and outside of it.
It has also been a year of change. I know, I know. President Obama won an historic election on the promise of change. But just to be clear, most of the time change sucks. Oh, I suppose one thing here or another thing there doesn’t matter too much, but when everything changes all around you, life can get to be pretty dizzying. It is hard to keep your balance because your equilibrium is thrown off.
Last, it has been a year of D(d)iscovery. I put that word in both forms for the simple reason that it has two meanings for me. First, I have done more with the Discovery Educator Network this year than I’ve done in all the previous years combined. It has been a fantastic time of meeting new people, traveling to new places, and pretty much just having a blast. It has also been a year of personal discovery for me. I’ve had a lot of time to think about who I am and who I want to be. Which leads to change. Which leads to struggles. Which leads to…well, you get the idea.
Resolutions
I hesitate to even post these ideas. Resolutions, like most rules I suppose, are primarily made to be broken. I hope I can keep these.
I want 2010 to be the year of getting fit…finally…with finality. I’m overweight and under-exercised. The charts tell me I am supposed to weight 163 pounds, but I think that is pretty much meant for bones and skin and some “innards.” It certainly can’t include any muscle. No, I’m shooting for 185 by the end of 2010. However, if I can achieve a 36″ waist, I won’t care about weight. Eating right, exercising, and regaining a sense of spirituality are the three keys to this resolution.
I want 2010 to be the year of advancement. I want to advance my knowledge of classroom skills as well as my computer / media skills. I also want to advance my career to a new level. I don’t want to wait around for this to happen “to me.” I want to actively advance myself in these areas, whatever and wherever that means.
I want 2010 to be the year of friendships. I am, by personality, a loner. It isn’t that I don’t like people (OK, maybe some days that would be true). I am just very comfortable sitting at a table at Starbucks working or playing on my Macbook Pro and ignoring the world around me except for its own entertainment purposes. I need to develop the friendships I have and create new ones as well. I need to “get out there” and have some fun with others for a change. I’d love to go bowling, shoot some pool, play some ping pong, take in a ballgame, or host a dinner party. Yep, 2010 needs to be a year of friendships. And if those friendships can help me advance and get fit, so much the better I say!
OK, that’s me. What about you? Leave a comment to tell the world your reflections and resolutions as we face the crossroads of 2009 and 2010.