I learned a lot in 2009 but here are the main things that stood out for me this year.
Traveling around the country is a true learning experience. Seeing places that I have read about is really different when you see them in person. Cultures and places have new meaning. When I read a book and it is set somewhere that I have been, I am able to feel more for the characters in the book. In 2010, I plan to continue to experience the world. See my travel pictures at: Trip Out West 2009
Connect with others. I really enjoyed traveling around the country and meeting online and real life friends in person. I use email, instant messenger, plurk, twitter, facebook, delicious, diigo, digitalscrapbookplace, and ravelry as some of the ways to stay in touch with family and friends. These connections are important and I plan to nurture these friendships and not take them for granted.
Take advantage of learning opportunities. I participated online with K12online and educon this year. I also presented at the Upstate Technology Conference. I will look for more opportunities in 2010.
Don’t over-commit myself. I participated in the daily photo a day project on Flickr and did pretty good. I thought I did one every day but somewhere along the line I either missed 3 days or I messed up my count. I will go back and review these pictures. I learned a lot about taking pictures by taking them, looking at others, and getting comments on my pictures. I tried to comment on others but when I traveled, the internet connections made this difficult. Meanwhile I also had hoped to finish 100 scrapbook pages but seriously missed this goal by a lot. I think I bit off more than I could chew. In 2010, I plan to work on one project instead of two major ones.
Keep life simple. My life got complicated when I let it. I need to remember that I have control of my own life and when I let it stay simple, life is much better. When I struggle against the natural flow of things, my life gets complicated. In 2010 I plan to not over-plan everything and go with the flow.
Get more exercise. I have gained more weight and weigh more than I ever have in my life. I sporadically exercised and easily found reasons for not exercising. When I exercised, I felt better and even felt more in control of my life. In 2010, I plan to do more hiking and getting outdoors more even if we are traveling.
Take better care of myself. I thought about yoga and meditation this year but I never took the step to doing it. I let my body take over my mind. I want to start back doing my tai chi and calisthenics. I want to dress better instead of just throwing clothes on my back. In 2010, I plan to take more pride in how I look and how I dress.
Life is short so spend time with the ones you love. We almost lost my father this year. He is 90 years old and I know that soon, he will not be with us anymore. Every day I spend with him is to be cherished. In 2010, I will spend time with loved ones and make sure they know how much they mean to me!
Original image: 'Big Heart of Art - 1000 Visual Mashups'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55943778@N00/3470650293
by: Q. Thomas Bower
1 comment:
Many of these resonnate with me this year too. I hope to take on less extra stuff, and spend more time with friends and family. While I've loved doing all the things I took on, I didn't have energy and time to soak it in before moving on to the next thing.
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