*Insert Zergling sound effect*

I don’t consider myself very religious, but I am gonna try this whole giving up shit for lent. One year, my brother actually gave up eating meat. Kudos to him cause that’s all he ever ate before that. He pushed through it and became somewhat of a hero in my book.

Where does that leave me? What am I willing/dreading to give up?

• Smoking – I really need to stop.
• My fears – Let’s see if I can give up my fears and let myself go.
• Facebook – Sound pathetic, but I kinda need to give this up.

I will attempt to not do these things for lent. See you on the other side.

Let’s reflect and see if I held up to the resolutions I set on myself at the beginning of the year.

My 2010 New Year’s Resolutions:

• Maintain my healthy relationship with my family and friends. (This was fairly easy to maintain. Distance does make family grow closer; at least in my experience.)

• Pick up the honeys. (This is totally subjective, but I believe I could have pushed this one a little further.)

• Eat and live healthier. And win the weight loss bet. (Although I did not win the weight loss bet, I did start eating better and exercising more. In return, I lost a little over 20lbs in a years span. It should have been more, but I’m not complaining. That’s doing the bare minimum stuff. I do plan on doing better this coming 2011)

• Save/earn more money. (Totally failed this one. School is putting me in a hole.)

• Actually start my graphic design business. (I’m still as small-fry, but I’m pretty legit now in Seattle. Well, more legit than last year.)

• Get into UW.

• Get into the design program at UW. (These two are by far my best goals that I met this year.)

• Become a better person for other people and myself. (I made more relationships than I burned. I’m much more outgoing. I am becoming more truthful to myself. Did I manage to complete this goal? I’d like to think so, but I can always do much better.)

Six out of eight! Not bad, not bad at all.

Now for my 2011 New Year’s Resolutions:

• Become more of a man; a modern man that is. Some resources to learn more about being a man: The Art of Manliness, Gunn’s Golden Rules, Rules for My Unborn Son.

• Be more truthful to myself and to others. I want to become more honest with myself and to the people I hold dear.

• Eat and become physically healthier. Let’s push it further to a flatter stomach. Maybe I’ll even pickup cross fit with Arnnie. If I drop another 20lbs or a couple sizes, I will treat myself to some new snazzy swag.

• Learn how to dance: I got to at least learn how to be as cool as Sam Rockwell. Ever since I started my sophomore year at UW, I noticed a group of people always dancing in Red Square. It looked like they were dancing swing. I think I’m gonna do that.

• Dress to impress (myself). I will wear what I want to wear. Wherever. Whenever. A stubborn tailor once told me “when you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you look great!” I have to thank Put This On for just being awesome.

• Less thinking, more doing. This year, I want to get my hands dirty, like Dirty Jobs dirty. Ideas and dreams are great and all, but what’s even better is to realize them into something tangible. Yoda once said, “do or do not. There is no try.”

• Become awesome. Time should not be wasted being negative. 2011 is all about being positive and being awesome. I will try an make it a habit to always see the positive side of things, hence being awesome.

• Have a legendary time, because time waits for no one. Carpe diem!

The year has been busy and uncomfortable to say the least. It was a year of practice and searching. And through practice and searching, I realized many things. Though considered trivial by most, I found these realizations to be quite astonishing and consider them somewhat life changing. Most of these realizations were developed from being exposed to a variety of uncomfortable situations. Whether it be, moving to a new apartment that is just five units down the hall, interning for a small ghetto-fabulous marketing company, or returning to school as a sophomore designer rather than a junior. If I could sum up my experiences into one word, it would be “change.” I know, I know. Such a cliché word, but it’s an appropriate word to describe the catalyst of newfound interests I have developed throughout the course of this year.

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… you filthy animal and have a happy new year…

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you…