Monday, December 31, 2012

The year.

Time for that customary year-in-review post.

2012 was, in all, a pretty great year.

Some highlights:

1) Finished 3/4 of nursing school with a 3.9 GPA.
2) Worked as a nurse extern at my #1 choice hospital, where hopefully I paved a foundation for a job after graduation.
3) Started running seriously, and consequently ran my first half-marathon in October.
4) Finished my 5th novel, which I queried for a while before setting it aside due to school. Learned a lot.
5) Finally convinced Hubby that we're getting a dog after I graduate. :)
6) One of my best friends moved back within an hour visiting distance.
7) Possibly discovered where I want my nursing career to begin and flourish (critical care).
8) This one is a mixed bag, but I lost my grandmother in March. She was only 69 years old, but she'd been in an off-and-on fight with breast cancer for many years. We all hated for her to leave us, but I like to think she's at peace now, with my grandfather who passed in 2010. Her death was the catalyst for my dedication to running, which I began the day after she passed.

Our health is a gift and the only thing we can truly control is what we choose to do with it. At the hospital, I see people who have chosen to squander and abuse themselves, and others who treated their lives and bodies with respect, but still suffered from uncontrollable disease. It may be easy to leave things to Fate or chance or luck, but I believe that improving your own odds is the best gamble to take, and it makes your life much more enjoyable in the meantime.

If you're considering weight loss or health living New Year's resolutions, let me just urge you to make sure you do your research thoroughly on what avenue to approach. Personally, I believe in eating wholely, within proper portion and calorie/carb/fat/protein/fiber ratios, and exercising. They really do go hand-in-hand. Also remember that any commitment worth pursuing is going to require hard work and dedication. There will be bad days. Don't let them derail any of your success. One bad day isn't going to undo all the previous good days. Start slow and build up. Don't expect phenomenal results in weeks. Our bodies just don't work that way, and you should be thankful for it. The body is an amazing machine. Remember that.

*steps off soapbox*

Most of all, I hope you and I both find or continue to enjoy true happiness and contentment in the year 2013.   I usually set a few resolutions for myself, and this year will be no different, though they may be shorter:

1) Finish my last semester of nursing school with a 4.0
2) Find a job.
3) Finish my current WIP.
4) Be able to do 20 regular-style pushups by the end of the year (what? I have to be strong!)
5) Hubby doesn't know this yet, but I'm going to try to convert 4/7 of our meals per week to vegetarian or vegan. We do pretty well already, but sometimes I let him talk me into throwing in some chicken. He won't be thrilled about this, but I think it's for the best.

If you're celebrating tonight, I hope you have fun, reflect well, and ring in the new year in the manner that best suits you! I know I will be!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Ends, Beginnings, and all the In-Between

Hi Friends.

   For exactly 10 days, this blog was deleted. I downloaded its contents first, of course--can't be that hasty. I've also deleted my Twitter account, which won't be getting rebooted.

   Why?

   Because these things were stressing me out. And it's okay. It's okay to admit that seeing other people either constantly promoting their or their friends' successes grates on you when you're not in the place to be working toward that yourself. It's okay to admit that seeing just one more pithy, self-indulgent tweet from an agent is going to make you shoot a hole in your computer screen (though I wouldn't recommend it.) And it's okay to admit that you may not be sure how to remove yourself from these stressors.

   But this blog has brought me a lot of joy over these past almost 3 years. I've met new friends and acquaintances, some who have become very dear friends in real life. I've learned a lot about writing and publishing, some which I wish I could forget. And I've learned a lot about myself, and how I feel interacting through this type of public forum, and what sorts of things I feel compelled to blog about. Just count yourselves lucky I'm restraining from most of what I want to say concerning your health, because I can go on for hours about that (sorry, hubby).

   Anyway. Just wanted to get that off my chest. I know I'm not alone--so many people talk about feeling burned out, but there's not much talk about what you can do about it when terribly long hiatuses don't do a thing. And it's all well and good to say you're not going to worry about it, but if you're anything like me, that's just a waste of hot air. I'm the kind of person who holds on to things and nibbles at them worryingly for many years. It doesn't matter how hard  try to "let go"--because believe me, I do try--I can't shake the thoughts and obsessions. I won't get much deeper into that, because you don't want to hear me regurgitate an entire semester's worth of self-insight I gained from my psychiatric rotation, but let me say I have gained a lot.

   So. I'm not okay, but I'm not going anywhere.


   Here's a picture of my cats:

You're welcome!