Resolutions.

Every August since I began college, I have made resolutions. It's the same general idea as a New Year's resolution but it takes place in one of the hottest months of the year. The reason for it comes from the fact that January doesn't seem new to me. However, August brings all kinds of changes- it's the beginning of a new school year, which always stirs up everything.

Last year, I probably made several August resolutions but only one stuck around for good. I resolved not to buy bottled water and since last August, with the exception of one incident, I have been going strong with my Nalgenes.

This year, I hope a few more resolutions become a habit. Here's a list of my latest ones:

1. Keep a blog- For years, I have been promising myself that I should write in my journal everyday and for years I have written in it approximately three times before forgetting about it all together until the next August rolls around. I feel like a blog is just what I need to keep up with writing whatever I'm thinking/wondering/feeling without having it feel like homework. I am aiming to post at least twice a week.

2. Make eye contact more often- As fun as staring at the ground is, I find myself doing it way too often, especially when I'm in conversation. And you know what they say, the eyes are windows to the soul.

3. Do every bit of assigned reading for my classes- This one is pretty obvious since I am an English major. Nearly every class I’ve ever taken, I’ve wondered if my professors would make more sense if I done the reading for that day. I guess this is my year to finally figure that out.

4. Get organized- My roommate/best friend is one of the most organized people I have ever known in my whole life and she makes me want to get things in order as well. On the downside, while I was writing this blog, I lost my note card filled with August resolutions somewhere in the stack of papers and magazines that are lying on my desk. There’s nowhere to go but up for this resolution.

5. Break my caffeine habit- This one comes up every year because I obviously haven’t been able to break the habit yet. I feel like 2009-2010 is the year for this one to be taken off the list though…goodbye deliciously refreshing Coke!

Maybe making new resolutions in August isn’t the most practical thing but it’s good to spice things up every now and then, don’t you think?