Welcome to 2007

A new year means new promises and new possibilities. I'm not going to waste my first words of 2007 on skeptical musings on the likely outcome; for me, 2007 is a year of hope and potential and new beginnings. I hereby resolve:

1) To BE MORE POSITIVE. If I can change something that I don't like, I will change it. If I can't change it, I will find out who can. If there is nothing to be done, I will move on.

2) To WRITE. This means not letting the craziness of my day serve as an excuse. Writing is hard, but the results are worth it. A couple of years ago my resolution was to write a story a month and then shop them around for publication. My goal this year is less formal, but at the same time a bit more rigorous: by the end of the year, I will have my short story collection or a novel finished.

3) To BE GENTLER. I can't take credit for this one; it's something my friend Kelly set as a goal for herself a few weeks ago. I actually wrote it on a Post-It note and put it in front of my computer to remind me to remind her, but found that just seeing and thinking about those words had a calming effect. Life is better when you take the time to appreciate yourself and those around you.

And that's it. Of course that doesn't mean there aren't other things I'm working on, like eating better and exercising more and keeping in better touch with my friends, but I think all of those daily things benefit from a more positive overall outlook, and that confidence comes from knowing that I'm making active strides toward being the person and writer I want to be.