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Things to Look Forward to in 2011

By January 3, 2011No Comments

By Joyce
New Organizing Project blogger
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Photo Credit: charlottehappening.com.

I’ve never been particularly good about keeping my new year’s resolutions. Like a lot of people, I’ll start out real well but after maybe six months I’m done for.

Not to say that I’ve completely given up on the idea of resolutions, but I’ve decided to look at any potential resolutions as ‘things to look forward to’ this year. I find that this is a more enjoyable and optimistic way to look at things rather then framing them as things I ‘have to do.’

So here are a few things I’m anticipating for the year 2011:

1) Traveling.

It’s been almost 2.5 years since I’ve last been out of the country and I have to admit, I’ve got the traveling itch again. It comes along every now and again, but I push it aside to stay in Chicago. On the one hand, I feel like I need to stay in Chicago right now. There’s some kind of force that’s been keeping me from leaving. This is where I grew up [okay admittedly, I grew up in the suburbs but whatever] and where I’ve developed the most connections. I love Chicago and I feel at home here.

On the other hand, what I’ve heard from a lot of people is that the time to travel is now while I’m young and not that settled down. It’s a good point and something I’ve been thinking about for some time now. The first time I traveled out of the country, it was probably one of the most eye-opening experiences for me. Moving outside of  my comfort zone, adapting to a whole new way of living, breathing in new cultures and customs. I loved almost every moment of it and it helped me better navigate my own growth as an Asian American. With my fellowship coming to an end in a few months, it may be a good time to part ways with Chicago for a little while and explore the world again.

2) More Blogging!

During these last few months, the New Organizing Project (NOP) has no doubt helped me polish my rusty writing skills and gotten me excited about blogging again. I find myself brainstorming much more than usual about potential blog topics and thinking, ‘I can’t wait to put that on my blog!’; it’s a great feeling. I haven’t been this enthused about blogging in a while.

So I’ve revived one of my wordpress blogs [one that was a result of a failed new years resolution actually] and my sister and I are working on our own Bulls/basketball-focused blog. I’m pretty excited about taking my blogging to another level this year and being much more intentional about what I’m writing.

3) Finishing year 2 of my Americorps fellowship – NOW WHAT?

Photo Credit: playgreen.typepad.com.

After June of this year, I will be done with my Americorps service. But then what? That’s been the big looming question probably since my senior year of college and I still haven’t been able to provide an adequate answer to it. Sure, I’ve been able to provide temporary solutions, i.e., internships, fellowships, etc. but I haven’t found something that I’ve felt is what I was meant to do in terms of my career. Granted, I have been able to figure out what I don’t want to do and that has to count for something right?

However, after talking to a fair amount of people about my quarter-life crisis, I’ve learned that, you know what, it’s okay not to know what you want to do with your life right now. Some people spend their entire lifetimes trying to figure this out. Heck, I’m only 23. One can’t be expected to know where they want to be and what they want to do in only a little more than two decades of living. I’m still grappling with trying not to force myself to make any hasty life choices right now, but I’ve slowly come to accept that I can’t always know what’s going to happen next and that’s okay. Life is for experimenting, trying new things and making mistakes. And while the uncertainty of what happens after June of this year is still a scary question mark, I’m also a little excited for the possibilities.

Perhaps the novelty of the newness of the year hasn’t worn off yet and maybe I am romanticizing a little too much but I feel oddly optimistic about these next twelve months. Here’s to 2011! It’s gonna be a good year; I can feel it.

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