The Making of a Happy New Year

New Year’s Resolutions, am I right?

Happy January everyone. Weird how it’s 2019. Are we seriously this old?

In the spirit of the new year, I am taking it upon myself to do some self-improvement. 2018 was fine, I mean I graduated from college and found a job somehow, so that was cool. But this year, I am trying to take my life more seriously.

By this, I mean that, if I’m being honest with myself, I half-way things. On paper, it doesn’t seem like it. I got As and Bs in college, I went to class (usually) and I’ve always had a job. But I often find myself looking for the easiest way out. How do I hit this requirement with the least possible amount of work? My college courses trained me in perfecting the delicate art of writing 10-page essays in 12 hours. But while this balancing act worked for me in college, I’m quickly realizing it’s not going to work for me in my career, wherever I end up working.

I used to pride myself on my ability to slack and still get the A. When I would see other students diligently working on a project for week, a project that I started two days before the deadline, I would cringe. What a waste of time, I thought. I was thankful for being smarter than them and not needing to work as hard or care as much. But it’s really not something to be proud of; now, it only makes me wonder where I could go if I put my 100% effort into something.

My aspirations of travel writing and accumulating wealth and fame will never be realized if I continue on this path of mediocrity. So how do I start changing my half-ass college bum mindset? New Year’s Resolutions.

I set three resolutions for myself this year. And I’m holding myself accountable to them as much as possible. On January 1, I went out and bought a physical calendar to hang on my door on which I can mark my progress on my resolutions. This way, if I don’t follow through, my failure will be glaring right in my face.

My first resolution is to exercise/lose weight. Yep, I know, original right? There’s a reason gym’s are crazy busy this time of year. But as someone who has never been on a regular workout routine, it feels really good to do something like this.

When I was at school, I walked all over campus every day. But now that I have an office job, some days the bulk of my exercise is walking to and from my car. I missed the physical activity, I even missed sweating.

I also think that exercise is an excellent way to discipline myself. If I can stick to working out – an activity I am not used to and truly hate – I can stick to working hard in other areas of my life. This is my first step in not being a fat lazy slob. As far as my diet goes… well, maybe I’ll discuss that in a future blog.

My second resolution is to read books. I want to read at least 10 pages of a book every day. I began reading late 2018. Before then, I hadn’t read a non-school required book in, well, ever. But reading feels good now that I’ve started – it’s a nice break from Youtube, Reddit and video games. Reading can teach you all kind of things, and I love learning new things, especially things with no practical value. Right now I’m reading a nonfiction history book chronicling Lawrence of Arabia and the Middle Eastern  theater of World War I. It’s the kind of thing that has always fascinated me, but I never bothered to actually pick up a book.

The great thing about reading is that it teaches you to write. All great writers attribute their inspirations to other writers. How am I ever supposed to write well if I don’t read what other better writers have created before me?

Finally, my last resolution is to keep up with this blog. My goal is to post a new blog at least once a week. When I feel more comfortable with it, I will post more, but I will start with weekly posts. I wish to hone my writing skills while possibly gain some attention as I do it. The more I write, and the more I read, I am confident that my skills as a writer will only get better.

So stick around, because we’re only going up from here!

Thank you so much for reading, and good luck on your own New Year’s Resolutions.

-Alec

Alec Slovenec

My name is Alec Slovenec, and I graduated with my bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism last year from Kent State University. I have a few years of writing experience, and I would love to share my talents with the Euclid Observer. Writing for the Observer would be an excellent way for me to improve and practice my skills as a writer and journalist. I recently started posting weekly blogs on my Wordpress, and I would love to get them published. I have lived in the Northeast Ohio are my entire life, so connecting with a local paper would be a great fit for me. Thank you so much for this opportunity!

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Volume 10, Issue 3, Posted 2:41 PM, 03.10.2019