10 Improvements to Make in My Life:

I'm not happy with myself right now. It's like New-Year's resolution time has come around in November! I keep seeing all these factors that I wish I could change and just get rid of to make myself a better person. At the risk of looking like a rather idealistic and somewhat adolsescent to-do list, here goes:

1. Walk more and eat better in order to lose weight (Don't disagree with me, please. I've had doctors tell me I'm chunky and could do with losing something along the order of 30 pounds. And I wouldn't weigh something like 120 pounds if that happened, either.)

2. Go to sleep earlier and therefore wake up earlier. (Going to bed at 2 am when your roommate leaves at 8 pm is not a good figure. If she leaves at 2 am it's pardonable, because clearly you can't inflict a dark, sleep-friendly room when she's waiting to get picked up. Waking up at 11 every weekend morning is not conducive to having more morning time.)

3. Stop Procrastinating! (Actually read for class, which is a rather hard thing to do, but worth it when come test time there aren't 3 entire chapters to read. Do papers ahead of time so that there isn't the whole crunch-time mentality.)

4. Improve my mind by reading a book every two weeks or so. (That sounds so damn frumpy and Victorian Finishing School-esque. Actually Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice makes the comment that any woman worth marrying should continually improve her mind with avid reading. Yes Mr. Darcy/Colin Firth! Marry me! I can be your ideal woman! But seriously, I enjoy reading and have been rather lazy at doing it although it really does make me happy, and having the added benefit of learning is fantiddlyastic. Ok, that just sounded Flanders-nerdy.)

5. Come to terms with reality. (If he doesn't like me, get over it, settle with friendship, and move on. Besides, UT has 24,999 other guys, albeit quite a few taken, but that leaves me with a margin of several thousand to choose from.)

6. Explore and really get to know the University. (I made a plan that once a day I would explore a different UT building, to make future class-location-hunting easier, plus to discover quiet little nooks and crannies in which to study, read, sleep, etc. I also told myself that once a week I would try to attend one universtity/local function/festival thingy, such as a play, a lecture, a cultural event, or something like that. I have done that a little, but not as much as I would like.)

7. Be a better friend. (I'm sorry to those I have annoyed the hell out of, or neglected entirely. I'm not going to make excuses, just know that I will try to improve.)

8. Manage my money better. (I should be able to stay within a budget and save up cash for my future year abroad, as well as develop good habits so that when I'm working and earning my own income, I don't exceed it.)

9. Manage my time better. (This fits into "Stop Procrastinating" but it also concerns things like planning my day in order to ensure that I have enough time to do laundry, go to the Co-op, get a few groceries, or whatever I may have to do in a day.)

10. GET ORGANIZED! (Keep my stuff neat and orderly, among other cleanliness and organization rules that I often forget or neglect in favor of laziness.)

N.B.: There are a few other things I would like to improve, but due to their very personal and private nature, they shouldn't be revealed for all to see.


FYI: This list is not for anyone to feel sorry for me or for me to get anyone's sympathy, condolances, pity, or whatever. It's basically a reminder to myself of the things I want to, need to do. I figure if I put it out there in the open, however, that I may actually feel really guilty about not making said changes.