anti-new years resolution.

I am not one to make new years resolutions. As a child, I saw my aunts talk about a change in diet and routine exercise in hopes of weight loss. I heard an uncle say he was gonna quit smoking (which happened to be a success). People also talked about going back to church and turning their lives around. All too often people do not go through with their resolutions. They end up quitting by January 13th or saying, "Never mind. I'll do it next year." I've had conversations about how we should be able to just change in the middle of the year. If you make new year's resolutions, I am not knocking you but why wait for January 1st to make a change?

However, I do think it is very important to set goals and actually I have been inspired by Mo and Landre to create a list of things I want to do, either by the time I graduate, by the time specified in the list or by the time I die. These are in no particular order.

1. Keep my room clean.
2. Finish the collage on my wall.
3. Graduate with at least a 3.8
4. Shop with the CCC fam.
5. Visit 50 countries by age 50.
6. Get a blonde streak.
7. Make a layout for this blog with the help of Amanda!
8. Get a tattoo.
9. Upgrade my nose ring to a hoop.
10. Write a book.
11. Study Abroad in Summer '10.
12. Explore Northern Cali more often.
13. Start a blog of short stories and poems written by yours truly.
14. Perform at Sickspits First Tuesdays Open Mic Night.
15. Do something for someone without expecting to get something back.
16. Speak up!!
17. Go to Miami for a summer with the BFF
18. Limit my complaining (because the good things really do outweigh the bad).
19. Try to build a REAL relationship with my father.
20. Draw a self portrait that actually looks like me. Ha!
21. Challenge people when I feel they're wrong.
22. Plan an amazing program (and workshop for ABC '10).
23. Coachella!!
24. Cook an amazing (and healthy) meal for my housemates and I.
25. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!
26. Get an iPhone!!
27. Change my spending habits/save!!
28. Say "No".
29. Give some encouraging words.
30. Intern for Essence Magazine
31. NYU for Grad School
32. Start my own magazine company.
33. Write for Rolling Stone, Essence, (Teen)Vogue, Complex, and Nylon.
34. Own a house by 30.
35. Establish a family, complete with a husband, 5 children and a puppy.
36. Take a yoga class.
37. Be an amazing cook.
38. Be the biggest cupcake of the year (-Derrick suggested this)

As I experience and learn new things, I am certain the list will be edited. At this moment though, these are some things I want to do. What's one thing on your list? Do you have a list?