One Little Word 2015

As someone who writes blogposts on a semi-regular basis and reads blogs on a more-than-semi-regular basis {aka all the time}, I can't escape all the "2015 RESOLUTIONS" "THIS YEAR I WILL..." "GOALS FOR THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS" posts that are popping up left and right. Two things:

1. Was asked by a friend if I was going to put up a resolution-esque list on the bloglet. Realized how awkward I get when talking about the bloglet in real life settings in front of people who don't know I blog sometimes. Not sure when I'll get over that...

2. I think I wrote a post last year about how New Year's resolutions usually aren't my thing because, for me at least, that "new year" feel always comes either on my birthday or in September when a new school year starts, and not at the beginning of January. This year, however, I'm starting to get it. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of feeling like a student and finally moving on towards adulthood-- when you slowly start to see January as the "FRESH START" and not September. Hmm.

Anyways, I did start a list of things to keep in mind during this upcoming year and originally thought of these as a sort of addendum to The 23 List, something a bit more overarching, less specific, and with different deadlines. You all know I love a good list.

But I felt odd creating yet another list to keep track of for 365 days, so when I read Elise's post on her One Little Word this year {something she's been doing for a while now, but for some reason this year's really hit home for me}, I stared at my list of random things and tried to come up with a common thread.

I couldn't quite fit all my random "resolution-esque" things under the following word, but I do like that it challenges me and pushes me outside my comfort zone. You know you're doing something right when it's slightly scary-- that means you're taking risks, yes? If you never take risks, you'll never know if you could've been amazing at something. So this year, I think I'll try out this One Little Word project and go with:

FEARLESS.

And yes, my second thought after "Ooh, that's perfect!" was "Hmm, but it's a TSwift album."

Because I adore the way Elise broke her word down into actionable bits, let's see if I can do the same with mine, since I need specifics to keep me accountable.

FEARLESS: when it comes to growing up. Seeing everyone over the holidays and noticing how adult they seem felt really strange. Sometimes I think I forget how old I am and then when I do remember, it's kind of mind-boggling. And it shouldn't be. Because I really do need to act my age and be a grown up. Being an adult kinda, sorta scares the living daylights out of me {why don't they teach more classes on these things, eh? extra preparation would be nice}, but seeing as how there really isn't much choice in the matter, I might as well stop waiting to "feel like an adult" {which might never happen} and at least get around to acting like one.

FEARLESS: when it comes to new experiences. I'm usually super cautious when it comes to trying new things {not food-related things, but like, things that might result in injury or surprise or where I might look a little silly before getting it right}. This year, I'm thinking of taking a "Why not?" attitude towards all that. Hey, I might turn out to be awesome at whatever it is. And if not, I could always practice.

FEARLESS: when it comes to worrying about others think about me. I guess this falls along the lines of being more assertive, believing that what I bring to the table is worth something too, and not underestimating myself. Deborah mentioned something similar to me recently and it got caught in my brain. There were actually several conversations with different people that led to this being on the list, but basically, I'd forgotten how to be the take-charge, leader-y Sam I was in high school and had become this uber-quiet, lets-others-come-up-with-the-big-ideas Sam I didn't particularly love. That needs to change. Because that second Sam is realllly frustrating.

So yes. I'll try this out during 2015 and we'll see how it goes. My hope is that I learn to ignore the tiny voice in the back of my brain that says I can't, and just go out there and do whatever it is that I'm nervous about anyways. I'm always going on about "yay new experiences and adventures", but if I rarely put myself in their path, it's pretty hard to find them.

Let's be fearless this year and joyfully embrace whatever comes our way! Here's to a better-than-we-could-even-imagine 2015, guys! (: