New Year's resolutions...

"A New Year's resolution is a commitment a person makes to one or more lasting personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit.This goal must be reached by the next New Year. Keep in mind that this is a goal, not a wish and should be something that you as a person could strive for." (Wikipedia)

I tell myself on December 31st that I don't make New Year's resolutions because I know I'll never stick to them anyway. However, I think secretly, in my mind, I do make some resolutions. They're not huge milestones or significant changes, but things I would like to improve and change slowly over time. Or maybe things I want to focus on a bit more, and be more aware of. Really, they are things that I should be working on for a lifetime.

Here are some of the things I came up with:

• Focus more on the positive
• When frustrated, try to figure out how to use the moment to bring about something good
• Walk with more humility
• Be a better listener
• Try to be more understanding
• Be more considerate
• Love life and all it brings my way

Those aren't really resolutions in my book. They are things I should be working on all the time, and things that I'll never quite accomplish this year. I'll confess though that I do have one or two true resolutions now that I think of it, but to be honest, I thought of these a few months ago - before New Year - and that is to learn a little bit of some of the local languages like Temne and Fula and to push myself a bit more academically. We'll see!