Memories have been remembered, some new ones have been made and we mentally file them while going back to our normal grind. Back on the normal grind, we have our New Year’s resolutions engraved into our to-do list. I have a few resolutions this year that I would like to accomplish.
First, I would like to read more. I started to call the set of books that were given to me as gifts, necessary books for summer reading or just books I was interested in as a whole of my personal library. I wanted to read all of the books that were in this library and start expanding it. In the past, I would read just one book a month. I want to limit myself to find time to read a book per week. My vocabulary, imagination and creativity will increase daily and so will my library. Also, to have a library, the books will have to vary in genre, so I should read different genres.
Down the road, I could have something to give to my children or grandchildren if they keep the lost art of reading actual books.
Second, I want to bake more. Baking is one of the best past times since watching TV. Also baking gets everyone in the house involved! My brother and I will start out with a plan to bake cookies. My mother will eventually come in and help with the batter and make sure we are following the recipe, and then my dad will come in and see if we have everything we need. Either way we all end up in the kitchen trying to get the job done. My late aunt Linda was one of the first people to introduce me to baking. She would bring over special baking spatulas that would be used in certain times, teach me how to soften butter and how to effectively follow the recipe. Still to this day I have no idea where she would get her amazing recipes from, but she opened my limited mind to such various ways to make sweets. In her honor I want to continue baking in my house.
Third, I want to spend more time with my friends; family and God is the main priority, but friends play a big role in your life as well. I hang out with friends at school, but when I go home I stay home with my family. My friends aren’t really with me unless I’m at school. A Few hours aren’t really enough to spend with your best friends. I want to keep my friends! Real friends are the ones that will come to a party you put together when everyone didn’t want to come. They are the people who go to coffee houses with you even though they will order the hot chocolate. Those are the people I want to keep in touch with so I think I should step up my ‘spending time with friends’ game. My high school years are going to be ending in a semester and I have to make sure these awesome people don’t slip away! If this means countless days of having movie parties and trips to the mall to engulf the latest fashions, then let it be!
2015 has been a good year, but I look to 2016 with a hopeful embrace. I think reading more books, baking more and spending more time with my friends will help me get through another year. My family will continue to be as loving as heaven and everything will be well. Happy New Year for the people who I haven’t told.
Julie is a senior at Archer High School in Lawrenceville.
