I’m currently in the middle of the General Ordination Exams, a set of six competency exams to see if I learned something in seminary. (Sort of like seminary OWLs. Or, I guess, more like NEWTs.) The exams are going fine, but they’re monopolizing virtually all of my brainpower and ability to arrange words into coherent sentences and paragraphs.
I considered simply writing down all the words that came into my head, one after the other, a sort of stream-of-consciousness beast mode. Instead, I came up with something we can all work towards: a list of attainable New Year’s resolutions.
I don’t know about you, but when I make resolutions—which doesn’t happen every year—I don’t tend to keep them. But I feel like I could probably aspire to any of the items below…maybe…if I just picked one.
Eat something marginally related to a fruit or vegetable with every meal. Remember that potatoes are nutritionally a starch.
Remember to text your old friends sometimes.
Try to get outside every day unless you’re really, really sick. Note that this involves leaving your apartment.
Read a book. (Already checked this one off. Three times. Winning 2017.)
Drink water. Preferably every day.
Make your bed…at least once a week.
Don’t engage in emotional debates in a Facebook comment thread or on Twitter.
Be more grateful. Maybe occasionally write down the things you’re grateful for if you’re feeling super motivated.
Vacuum.
Get sleep. I don’t think I’m physically capable of all-nighters any more, so this should totally be doable.
Exercise every month.
Don’t watch more than five hours of TV in one day.
Stretch goals: eat healthier foods, sleep at least seven hours every night, exercise three times a week, read fifty books, establish a writing schedule.
Now, surely you can find something in that list that’s achievable for you. Or perhaps you have something to add?
Alissa Goudswaard Anderson (’10) lives with her husband Josh in New York City, where she is earning her Master of Divinity at General Theological Seminary. Alissa enjoys private kitchen dance parties, big Midwestern thunderstorms, and perusing other peoples’ bookshelves. For more, find her online at www.episcotheque.wordpress.com or tweet her @episcotheque.
