2015 New Years Resolutions

I do love good lighting. Wintertime is the best time for mood lighting – and what better way to light the mood than by stringing white Christmas lights up everywhere?

My new years resolutions are based on six characteristics I would like to foster in the new year. The chosen characteristics are ones that I may have but are underdeveloped or ones that I feel I lack entirely. I have written resolutions based on the characteristics I want to exemplify – and some things I just want to accomplish.

The six characteristics are as follows:

1) Patience

One can never have enough patience. This year especially I have noticed how my patience has grown and how much I still need to improve.

2) Trust

I have been challenged more than ever to be trusting of others in my professional and personal life. I hope that in the next year I can develop a sense of trust that will enable me to care for my loved ones.

3) Wisdom

Of course, this does not simply mean “learning.” It goes without saying that my education will not end when I graduate next May. I want to develop the wisdom that comes from experiencing joy, tragedy, love, and laughter. I hope that this next year I can truly devote myself to the relationships I have previously nurtured.

4) Faith

My faith journey is a very long and twisty one. I hope that in the coming year I can foster good habits in my prayer life and pass along only the best for my friends.

5) Courage

This one is a difficult one to explain. While I may be able to advocate for my patients, I want to develop my own sense of courage. I want to be able to withdraw from relationships and revoke bad habits that hold me back from becoming the best person I can be and providing the best care I can as a nurse. This will be especially beneficial as I progress in my nursing career.

6) Compassion

The above being said, I hope to have the compassion to understand others and develop relationships that will benefit others. I want the compassion I develop to transfer to the patients I care for.

Now I know this post does not necessarily cover my new years resolutions themselves but there will be another post coming that will cover them. Although, I’m curious as to what others’ new years resolutions are… Two of my more practical ones are to exercise more regularly and finally learn how to snowboard.

Thankful Thursday

I’ve decided I want to try and make Thankful Thursday a more consistent thing, not only to remind myself to be grateful but also because I usually undervalue Thursdays. They are like the less-handsome fraternal twin of Tuesday.

Today is my great-aunt’s 86th birthday! We celebrated by going out to lunch – “we” meaning my mother, great aunts, and my grandparents. I was the youngest there by at least 30 years, but it still ended up being a party.

Beforehand, I had the opportunity to go to the gym while my mom went and visited a friend. There I lifted weights, something I have not done in a while, and as a treat relaxed in the sauna for a few minutes. Afterward, my mother and I took Echo for a walk. I truly enjoyed having the company and the additional exercise (usually I either go to the gym or I go running with Echo).

By the time we got home from lunch, I had just enough time to catch up on one of my favorite YouTubers videos (Grace Helbig) before my brother’s bus rolled up. We are now listening to music and are about to have a mini dance party!

Life is good.

Christmas Reflections

This past month has been a whirlwind of struggles and tasks accomplished – mainly to do with school and academics. The first week was finishing up projects for three of my classes and preparing for my one and only final the week after. The second week was mostly spend stressing over finals, stressing over a regional club meeting for M.E.Ch.A., saying goodbye to friends as they left for the holidays, and feeling homesick. The meeting went as well as could be expected during a college break. 

 

Once home, I was able to reconnect with friends and spend plenty of time with my family. We furtively shopped and wrapped around each other as Christmas drew nearer and even got to play in the snow! One evening, my godmother took me to see It’s A Wonderful Life performed by the local theater. Eventually my sister arrived and my brother and I embarked on what ended up being a 2.5 hour adventure around SeaTac in the late evening. 

 

 

Christmas was well spent with my family, including my grandparents, great-aunts, aunts, parents, and siblings. The food was delicious! I’m a sucker for ambrosia. 

Now that Christmas Day is here, the Christmas season may begin. Merry Christmas!

 

 

Thankful Thursday

It seems as though I have spent far too much time complaining/discussing things I do not like and not appreciating/endorsing things I do like. So, without further ado, I introduce the first Thankful Thursday! (“A month before Thanksgiving? She’s crazy.” you say? BA HUMBUG.) I will simply write a list of little things that I am especially thankful for.

 

• sleeping in a whopping 25 minutes
• finding/playing the fishing game on the rowing machine at the gym
• taking a 20 minute nap
• having a nice, warm cup of coffee
• seeing the gorgeous weather and colors of nature outside
• getting my prescription refilled within less than 10 minutes
• being complimented for my shirt
• running late without causing any trouble
• eating a fresh carrot and tomato spinach salad with a slice of bread and an apple for dinner
• figuring out why my resident was anxious around me
• (subsequently) putting my resident to bed
• receiving support from the CNAs and LPN at clinical
• finding out an assignment is due later than I thought

Some of them are not very exciting, but each event made me happy today and I thought I would share some of my happiness. That is all.