dear me in 2008,

read more classics. true literature is timeless. get with those times.

cook more. i promise you’ll like, your body will like and your roommates will also like it.
plan two meals a week and make extras for lunch. you really don’t need to eat out so much.
your pocketbook will definitely like it.

don’t let the blackberry become your digital leash.
yes, you can instantly connect to almost anything in the world at any given moment…
but nothing is that instantly important that can be found through little plastic buttons.

ride a bike again. don’t let the cars in the city scare you.
they’re big and maybe they’re made of heavy steel and perhaps they move really fast.
but they yield to you… or at least they should.

find a piano and play it again. remember that dream you had? yeah, find a piano.

go on dates…it’s okay, i promise, it’s just dinner.
you’ll trust again in time, don’t worry about it right now.
besides, there are way too many good restaurants here which should be enjoyed.

run to the ocean at least once a week. never in your life has it been so close before…
don’t miss the opportunity.

run two half marathons. two halves make a whole… or at least kind of.
maybe next year you’ll take on the full deal. but for now, to halfs are enough.

find beauty. be it in the ordinary, everydays of life or the huge, indescribable moments between…
people say you see beauty differently and more than most. so share it…
tell life’s stories with and without words.

make time not to relax, but be refreshed. there is a difference.
57 channels are relaxing, writing is refreshing.

write again. remember how much you love it? it misses you too.

buy a real camera. the kind that makes a real shutter click and has lenses and is bigger than the one which fits in your pocket. [no offense little canon elph]

save money to buy a real camera.

learn to sail… or maybe..

find friends who sail. maybe they’ll teach you.

apply for graduate school… okay, maybe not apply. but at least visit the program.
make connections and start getting excited about it. it’s coming soon.

watch the sun rise more. remember how much you loved that last year in india? find it here.

make friends with people who have cars. despite emissions and oil use, cars can be a good thing especially if they involve trips to target or trader joe’s…

or maybe just buy a vespa… hmmm…

save for a camera first, than revaluate the vespa idea.

be a friend. don’t just try to make them.

commit. identify where you’re going to pour your efforts and pour into them fully.

choose to love. even when you don’t want to and don’t feel like it. choose to love this city even when it doesn’t love you back. choose to love these people even when nothing in you understands them. maybe you have to love first before you’ll understand.

read the scriptures. they are relevant. they are powerful. they are life giving. they are life changing.

find Him here… you know He is. He told you so.
you see His fingerprints over everything and everyone.
i know, it’s harder than it was before… you have to listen closer and look deeper.
but trust me, He’s here.

i think that’s all for now. we’ll save the rest for next year. good luck to you.

3 Responses to “dear me in 2008,”

  1. Emily Says:

    Love it, love it, love it! Now go do it all! I’ll do it with you!

  2. anna Says:

    i keep not blogging my “resolutions” (i hate that word) because i think it’s too late, thanks for so beautifully putting yours out there. i think i might go home and do mine…

  3. Dave Swanson Says:

    Geez, that makes my resolution to lose ten pounds this year look a little shallow. Thanks a million, Jill.

    Just kidding. You know me. I could stand to gain 10 pounds. Thanks for your beautiful writing. You have a way of making failures and shortcomings look like opportunities and options. You write with hope, and that is a rare gift indeed.

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