breaking in the new year

i think it is only cliche as someone who does this whole blog thing to take a minute and talk about breaking in the new year. 2009 started with a plan, something concrete and exact, a mix of certainties and undiscovered possibilities that stood within reach of a wide-eyed 22 year old soon to be college graduated who had his life set to the "t". i have always thought of myself to some extent as someone who had it figured out, had a plan, a road map for my life. i was going to graduate college or get a job, get married, have kids, grow old and somewhere during that lose sight of my childhood ambitions slowly but surely with unfulfilled ideas of travel, forgotten dreams, and lost experiences because i was too afraid to just go for it. i was content and happy.

now a year later, i am still happy sometimes content, but always doing what i want to do. it was this time last year that i was soon to be struck dead by a truck full of reality and wake the hell up. i was leaving for vienna, austria to study abroad. fast forward four months and i am not sure if there is enough time to mention everything that i gained on this trip but i will do the best i can.

-be young even as you grow old
-take dance lessons
-immerse yourself in something full of culture
-learn about your hometown because you may grow to love and appreciate it more than you ever thought you would
-drink coffee with friends, the conversation will become endless
-smile and talk to children because even if they do not speak the same language as you, they will always understand
-watch a sunset everywhere you go
-take walks
-go with whatever comes your way, you will get through it so much easier
-do not settle when you know something out there is better
-be open to everything new
-it is okay to trust a frenchman who cooks with opium
-try couchsurfing
-try something new every chance you get
-learn from your professors even if you hate the class
-befriend your professors, they will befriend you back
-keep in contact with people you meet
-always take the stairs
-you can always make that money back so go ahead and spend it on an experience
-any european wine is good wine, same goes for beer
-spend the extra few dollars of good wine, again, same goes for beer
-trains are not out dated
-talk to people you do not know, they are pretty interesting
-thank your parents
-walking is the only way to experience a city
-buying organic is well worth the extra 50 cents to a dollar
-farmers markets are always better
-watch a movie in a foreign language, changes are you will still know whats going on
-always give your seat to someone who is older than you while riding the bus
-running is still the best therapy, cheaper and you get more out of it
-try real real hard to do what you want, when you want to
-listen to the classics
-trust strangers, not everyone is out to get you
-take time out for yourself, you are the best friend you will ever know
-there is a reason the egyptians kept the heart and threw away the brain...follow it
-the best scarves you can buy are only about six dollars, all you have to do is find the right market to buy them at
-public transportation is so much better than you first realize
-take pride in your city
-do not be afraid to love something you may never get
-eat street food, so good and so cheap

the list in my head does on and on and the majority of these things seem like they are common sense. in reality, some of these are the ideas that slip away as we slowly lose touch with ourselves. we forget our childhood thoughts because we surround ourselves with responsibility and clutter our lives with hassle and unnecessary obligations to things that we do not always enjoy. that has become my personal journey, to ward off those fall-outs. to hold true to my dreams and to keep those wild ideas free even though society might believe they are irresponsible and unsuitable for someone my age to buy into.

i have never been one for these resolutions; lose weight, eat right, get that promotion, stop biting my nails, or whatever it is that we want to do at the turn of the year only to lose sight of by the 15th. i think we only kid ourselves when we make these "resolutions" because we use the excuse of new year or it is only december 5th, i still have awhile before i need to really focus on that. i do not not want to fall prisoner to that, i want to conquer those notions and actually live it, not just plan it.

so to myself, for this year, my resolution is to not make a resolution. i only want to continue to build upon what i learned over the past year. and though i do not have any concrete plans for 2010, i am going to enjoy the rides, take what is in front of me, embrace it with everything i have, and hold true to something that i did not just learn this past year, but have always trusted more than ever...to understand that everything happens for a reason and it will all work out in the end.