Hello! Sorry for the very spar posts ... I honestly have no excuse. However, I had no WiFi for about 2-3 weeks since we moved to a new flat. Actually, I still don't have any, we're borrowing from the neighbours but it's so slow! I know, I know, excuses, excuses.
I still want to lay out my goals and ambitions for this year. I don't get why some people hate doing this, it really helps get things in perspective. I do agree, however, with the "don't wait for the new year" to achieve what you want; you should always be working towards your goals! Which is why my resolutions are more continuous of the previous year, there are only very few new tweaks here and there.
I am going to divide my resolutions between two categories; my normal life ones and my reading goals for the year.
So, here is what I am hoping to achieve with my reading this year:
1. Read Shakespeare: I bought this really hefty collection of all of Monsieur Shakespeare's works, including both his plays and sonnets. It's a Wordsworth edition. I want to read every month 1-2 plays in hopes to finish the collection this year. There are so many so I am not going to push myself to read all but I hope I get a good amount done!
2. Read the Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie: Continuing with this from the end of last year. I just started reading Agatha Christie and my god have I missed out! I very recently got into crime, both true and fiction -- in movies, books, tv shows and even podcasts -- so Christie is fairly new to me. I've got two down so far and many more to go!
3. Read Arabic books: I don't read any Arabic. At all. Last year I only read one Arabic novel, one. To be fair, I never had a liking to reading in Arabic. Growing up, I guess the ones I did were poorly chosen and they kind of made me not like reading in Arabic. However, I got a good number of recommended books from some friends who eat up Arabic novels. I am trying to read one a month. I did already fail reading one in January but February is not over yet!
4. Classics! I feel like the majority of readers have this as their reading resolution, more classics! There are just so many and there is a vast number of the major classics that I know nothing about. And as an English literature graduate, I am ashamed. I don't want to pressure myself with the classics though because then they will feel like a chore and I would just put them off. I will be giving them as much time as hey need and not rush them.
5. Series: There are a few series I would like to venture into this year: His Dark Materials, The Lord of the Rings, (reread) Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire to name a few. Of course, Miss Marple series as well. As I read throughout the year there will be more series or continuing series from previous years that I haven't got round to finishing yet. I've never read The Lord of the Rings because I just wasn't into that sort when I was younger, we've had the book for ages there's no front cover any more; it's ripped off!
As for my personal resolutions, they are more basic ones that I try to do every single day but I'm trying to make them more habits. I'm also tracking them down on paper; I've started bullet journaling.
1. Eat better: This goes hand in hand with the previous goal. I am not a fast food eater nor do I overeat. I just don't eat that well. My diet is not really balanced and I want to wane myself off of carbs for a while and have lots of fibre. I'm doing really well since I'm not really addicted to food. In fact, I could go hours without eating. My initial problem is inactivity and not the food. I know that when on a diet, 70% is the way you eat and 30% is exercise. I am working really hard! I just hope it keeps up.
2. Workout every night before bed: Now this is excluding the regular exercise that I'm doing 5 times a week. I want to do a 15-30 min workout before I call it a night every night.
3. Go out for walks more: I have been walking quite a lot but not enough. I typically do 1 hour of walking 2-3 times a week. Rates need to go higher!
4. Take care of my skin: This year I want to really invest in proper skincare and see what works and doesn't with my skin. I think it is very important and I want to be able to keep it hydrated and looking youthful for as long as possible.
5. Get a job: This is silly to write down as a resolution but I am really struggling with finding a job and kick starting a career. I'm just really hoping this year I'd be able to find something. I have found nothing since I graduated.
6. Try to be positive: I usually tend to be quite anxious about things and I can be really down on myself sometimes. I want to be able to be optimistic. You see life how you feel. I want to be a lot more positive to see the beauty in life.
So, these are what I'm going to get done in 2017. I'm hoping next year I can look back at this post and be like "yep, ticked this one and that one, actually I've done them all!"
Hope anyone who's reading this is doing extremely well with your resolutions and happy new year! x
