New Year's Resolutions

(Image found here.)

Every year, I try to come up with New Year's Resolutions because I love the feeling of setting goals and accomplishing them. However, I always come up with my resolutions too late, so I don't have enough time to really think about them. I always end up forgetting them as the year goes on, too. Now that I have my blog, I decided that I'm going to post my New Year's Resolutions here so I can look back on them whenever I need to.

Ashley's New Year's Resolutions:

1. Become more organized. I am definitely organized enough as it is. However, I love finding out about new ways to organize the various items I have. My goal with this resolution is to find more ways to organize and maybe even come up with my own ways to share with you all.

2. Find better study habits. I'm one of those I-need-to-get-an-A-or-else-I'll-freak people. I'm constantly worrying about my grades and making sure that I have an A in every class. And yes, I devote a lot of my time to studying and doing homework. The study habits I have right now have been working out pretty good, but I know there are more ways that I can help them to become even better. My goal with this resolution is to find more study habits to help me do better on the quizzes and tests that I take.

3. Read more. Whenever I have extra time, I grab the next book on my list and read! That's why I read so many books in the summer - I have so much time. Reading is probably one of my top five favorite things to do. When the school year comes around, I find that I have less and less time to read because my life gets so much busier. I want to be able to read as much as I can! It's a proven fact that reading helps one to become a better writer, so why not absorb a lot of books to help me write a better blog?! My goal with this resolution is to find more time to read during the school year.

4. Develop a better blog. As stated in the resolution above, I was hoping that reading more books would help me write a better blog. Who knows! I've wanted to have a blog ever since I was younger. I just got this blog in September, but I've barely made any posts in it. Therefore, I can be classified as a "newbie." My goal with this resolution is to find a way to make my blog more appealing and to get it to become well-known.

5. Gain creative insights. I've always to be more creative. I've tried to do little art projects, but every time I make something, it tends to come out looking like, well... crap! Every time I go on Pinterest, I see cute little crafts that I want to try, but then I think to myself, Is it really worth spending this money to make this craft when it's just going to turn out horrible? My goal with this resolution is to become better at making crafts and make more crafts.

6. Make more money. I don't have a job yet, but I'm luckily getting one in the next couple of months. Not having a good amount of money is a real downer because then I can't buy clothes, go out to eat with friends, etc. I made a lot of money babysitting last summer, but I really only get called to babysit during the summer and not during the school year. My goal with this resolution is to find ways to make more money.

7. Become more confident. My confidence is basically nonexistent. It's especially bad when I'm studying or taking a test or a quiz because I get really anxious and feel like I don't know any of the answers. However, when I get the test or quiz back, I end up getting a grade that is somewhere in the 90s. I basically just psych myself out and get so worried. My goal with this resolution is to get some faith in myself.

8. Exercise more. I love playing sports, especially soccer. I only play two sports - soccer in the fall and track in the spring. Therefore, that leaves the whole winter open with me just doing nothing. Since I don't play a sport in the winter, I just end up sitting around and don't even exercise. I have bad asthma, so I don't like going for runs in the winter because the cold air makes my breathing even worse. My goal with this resolution is to find more motivation to go outside and exercise.

9. Find out how to become a good cook. I don't cook much, but when I do, the food comes out terrible. I can't make buffalo chicken dip or salsa dip for my life. The cookies and brownies I make come out hard and gross. However, I would really like to learn how to cook better because I love food. My goal with this resolution is to make better food.

10. Go on adventures this summer. This summer, I'll *hopefully* have my license. That means I won't be hanging around every day doing nothing because my parents and sisters are working. I'll be able to have my own rides to my friends' houses and various places. Since I'll *hopefully* have my license, I want to be able to drive anywhere. My goal with this resolution is to visit places I don't get to go to a lot in the summer.

11. Journal more. I never realized the importance of journaling until about a year ago. I had an epiphany while watching The Notebook. When Allie got Alzheimer's disease, Noah read to her about their love through a notebook that he had. I got scared and thought to myself, What if I get Alzheimer's disease? Wouldn't I want to have a way to help me remember my life? That's when I got into journaling. I have always kept a journal, but I hadn't really written in it. I admit that I don't write in it as much as I would like to, but I have written a lot more. My goal with this resolution is to journal more so I can record the important things in life.

12. Stop worrying and stressing so much. Worry and stress are my middle names. I'm constantly worrying and stressing over everything - grades, friends, me, etc. It's getting to the point where it's bad because I'm tending to lose sleep over it. Also, who wants worry lines in their forehead?! Definitely not me! My goal with this resolution is to find ways to become more relaxed.

So there are my resolutions. I hope that I'm able to fall through with them. Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!