Last year, I made separate lists of goals and resolutions. I adhered pretty well to the list of goals (I got a metric shit ton of writing completed, I did some traveling (somewhat), I expanded the Recorder, and I have kicked smoking out of my life) and didn't get through some of my other goals (I only traveled a bit, I definitely didn't get new headshots, and I cut auditions out of my life completely. And the less said about running 5K races, the better.)
My resolutions list surprised me - I actually did most of it while having forgotten that I'd written it. I saw more live shows last year than I've seen in a while, I attended the theatre regularly, I watched a bunch of TV shows I'd wanted to catch up on, and I did explore the city a bit more. Spending remains a problem, but I have plans to work with that.
This year, I figure to do the same thing and make lists of concrete goals to accomplish, as well as a list of resolutions that I want to try and forget making about midway through the year and just go about doing them anyway. If I look back at this time next year and see that I did half to 75% of my goals and resolutions, then I'll feel pretty good about life.
GOALS
1. WRITING - I was mildly surprised to fall for writing as much as I did in the past year. I had always wanted to be associated with film work or theatre work, and was working really hard to convince myself that this was what I wanted without having any real understanding of what I was doing, why I was doing it, and why I cared so deeply about it. Essentially, I've been running on auto-pilot for several years, just going with the ride because it was a thing to do.
While at home over the holidays, I discovered my old High School Career Passbook. The passbook was a collection of my high school diploma, my resume from 2005 (how charming that my only job of record was "farmer"), and a list of honors, career goals, and my high school transcript. Related note - judging by my high school grades, I was basically a straight B student in everything but English, History, and the Arts. Coincidentally, I work in most of those fields now. Joy.
Anyway, there was also a letter in that passbook from my 18 year old self to prospective employers stating our career goals and desires. At the time, I envisioned myself as a filmmaker (oh ye of past hope and faith) and begin that letter with my intentions to make movies. I'd not forgotten that I wrote that, and it was a nostalgic blast from the past to read that.
What I had forgotten writing was the second paragraph. In that section, I talk about wanting to either become a writer (at the same time as a filmmaker) or in place of becoming a filmmaker. Clearly, 18 year old me knew more about what I wanted to do than I cared to admit, than I care to admit 10 years later, and than I care to admit moving forward. I've wanted to be a writer for a long time, and it's the thing that I've been doing for the past five to ten years without fail.
So, in a way, I'm living up to what I promised myself I'd be doing in high school. I'm not the overnight success that everyone dreams of becoming, but I'm pretty good at what I do, and I feel like with enough hard work and determination, I'll be able to look back in ten years and say that I chose my career path correctly.
How does that factor into my goals? Well, last year it was the first three goals I had listed, so this year, I'm consolidating:
- Finish three drafts of the book I wrote last fall. One draft is down, and after two, I'll feel comfortable passing it out to people. I figure to start sometime in mid-January on the 2nd draft, with the hope of working on a third draft by April. I'm legitimately excited about this book, and am excited to see where it goes from here.
- Finish two to three full length plays/screenplays. This was a goal from last year, and a good one, as I wrote 2.5 plays. I'm going to roll that half of a play over to this year and finish it up this month, and again, I'm very excited about it. I refuse to give up on the dreams of the theatre, and if that means writing plays that are seen/read by ten people, then so be it.
- Finish five to ten short plays/sketches/scripts. I blew this one out of the water last year, and intend to do so again. I'm going to be working on a one-act play this week for submission to a festival - that will be #1 of this list.
- Write a couple of short stories. I've gotten away from this goal in year's past, and would like to revisit this if for nothing else than as a writing exercise.
- Get paid for writing. An ambitious goal, but an unaccomplished goal from last year. SO - I'll roll with this one again. And if it's accomplished, then we'll add the work "again" to the equation and repeat.
2. Get a Play Performed/Read/Put On - I had one play performed last year as a Staged Reading ("The Woodsman"). I would like to ideally get two put on in such lights this year, but I'll start modestly and go with one. Again, a call back from last year that I'd like to stick with.
3. Get a Short Film Made - While I am aware that my dream of making movies is a pipe dream, I'd still like to try and get one made before I turn thirty, if only to be able to say I did it and move on from there. We'll see what happens, but I feel confident about doing this sometime this year.
I technically did help to get a short made last year - this video here. It was a work sketch, and it was a lot of fun to do. We'll probably do it again this year. However, I'd like to have a film made outside of my day job as well. Even if it's just a vanity project, I can live with that.
4. Travel More - I only did a bit of traveling, and this year, I feel as though I'm much more financially stable than I've been in the past. With that in mind, I'm gunning hard to travel to New Zealand in the fall. I've set aside a good amount of money so far, and am hoping to have that be my big vacation that I've been wanting to take for several years now. Here's hoping that everything goes well enough that I can make that trip and see another part of the world which I have never seen before. I'm also looking at traveling to Baltimore at some point to visit a friend who will be moving there soon. Minneapolis is in the works as well. Let the traveling begin!
5. Run Two to Three 5K marathons - I'm rolling this one over because I failed at it miserably. Time to get back on the road and get running again.
And now for...
RESOLUTIONS
Be a More Outgoing Friend - another roll-over from last year. There's no joy in being cooped up, and I hate always having it be "hey, we hang out at parties, we should hang out more!" and then it never happens. SO, I want to be a better friend. Let's hang out, guys.
See More Live Music - I'm seeing Muse in a couple of weeks, and that'll be great. If the Counting Crows come back, I want to see them again. There's other shows I'd like to see this year (Pearl Jam, etc) and I want to keep having that option.
Exercise More/Eat Better - a double resolution shared by probably everyone. I've got a gym membership that's just underutilized, and I want to be in prime shape (if I'm running races, then hell yes I need to get that fixed up) especially if I want to hike mountains in New Zealand in the fall. Time to go to the god damn gym!
Cook More - another rerun from last year.
Keep My Apartment Clean - a new one. Now that I live alone, it's on me to make sure that I'm not living in filth. That means clean dishes, a clean dresser, and no more piles of stuff I'm done working on. I resolve to be much cleaner in my own apartment.
Explore Parts of the City I've Always Wanted To But Never Have - Looking at you Logan Square/Andersonville/Wicker Park/Brookfield Zoo/Field Museum Special Exhibitions/Etc.
Get Out of the City More - I grow weary living in this concrete jungle. More day trips out of the city are in order. Anyone have any suggestions?
Date More - I've grown stagnant and kind of stopped trying to meet new people. This means that, well, I'm more and more the single guy. 2016 is essentially the last year of my 20's (woah) and I increasingly feel an internal urge to settle down. All of that will come in a later blog entry where I talk about conflicting issues of settling down/living free/not conforming to societal expectations/not living up to personal expectations. So more on that later.
For now, here's to 2015 being over and to the start of 2016.
