88 Days Left…

Being a reflective individual, the beginning of the -ber months and the change of weather has had me thinking a lot about this year. A friend posted a few weeks ago that there are still 100 days left in the year (obviously now it’s closer to 80), and that it is not too late to make the change in your life that you want to make.

Since seeing that, I have put a lot of consideration into this year and where it has brought me.

I started the year with a trip to Portland, Oregon. A trip booked six days before leaving, that began by almost missing the plane. A trip that taught me that it can be cold outside and not unpleasant or God-awful. An adventure from which I took a plane back to SFO, where friends picked me up and we went to Disneyland. From one adventure right into the next, that’s how I like my days.

After Disneyland, I had a calm five hours in Sonoma before having to sleep so I could wake up at some terribly early hour to catch a plane back to Oklahoma. My last semester in Grad School definitely stands out as one of my favorite. I feel like I was finally starting to get a handle on managing being away from home. I started to focus on blogging again, I got done what needed to get done, and the days went by too fast.

The Placement Exchange happened, and that’s about how I feel about it’s mark on my life. It happened. NASPA was an incredible experience – there were so many people I met and hung out with at Tweet-Ups and in sessions  and through people who knew people – it was all an incredible reminder of why I love working in Student Affairs.

And then I had some conversations that spurred my move to Portland. I think until the moment I signed my lease, I did not believe that it was going to happen. Here I am, it is happening.

This year I have been focused on Change – I felt like that was the natural next step after 2012’s searching. So I want to pause and evaluate where I am with the five focus areas I laid out for 2013 at the end of 2012.

1) Growing in my Faith

I found an awesome church here in Portland. It is really awesome to be in a smaller community. I am very satisfied. I have joined a small group that is going through all this deep meaningful theological stuff and it is super cool because at the same time it is intelligent and sharp conversation, but very laid back. I have missed the laid-back feeling of the West Coast church. I feel like I am growing. Like a Little Acorn that drifted to the right place.

2) Building my Relationships

This year has made me realize that I have friends all over the place. Despite the instant connection of the internet, it’s never really possible to be in contact with all of them always. But I do what I can. I send e-mails and postcards and I make phone calls and try to reach out to everyone I can. As far as my relationships here, well, some days I feel like I could do better.

3) Working on my Writing

I feel like I have astoundingly succeeded and sharply failed, simultaneously. I have not written any short stories, or made any significant progress on my novel. Any of them. I started a new work, but even that is haltingly slow. I have worked on my blog, I have started reviewing books and I have at least written a little bit every week.

4) Completing my Degree

Boom. Done.

5) Maintaining Physical Well-Being

I have not lost as much weight as I have wanted, but I have been trail-running lately, and that’s increased my distance by leaps and bounds. My time? not so much. But I find it so much easier to run 3.4 miles on mostly dirt than I do on asphalt. It has taught me that it’s okay to stop and walk for part of my run. Which is good. I needed to learn that.

So overall, I feel like I am doing well this year. I am accomplishing the things I set out to accomplish, and I think I might actually be sad to see 2013 fade away.

What’s one thing you want to accomplish by the end of the year?