Just for fun, here is the view out my window. I live near the top of the building, and for the first time in my life, I have a pretty great view. Weeeeee!!
Resoloootions? Well, basically, I need to finish what I started last year. Isn't this always the case--the never ending to-do lists? Usually, I write down everything I need to get done, scratch off a few, and end up having to rewrite the list with additions and subtractions. Experiences are edited, transfered, and interpreted into a lifestyle (paraphrasing a friend of mine). Therefore, I should change my habits to reflect the kind of life I aspire to. Right?
So, here goes (in no particular order):
1. Make some progress learning Arabic--not just settling for what I can pick up off my friends.
2. Finish my masters degree on time--May, not August.
3. Do my readings this semester instead of just skimming them before class.
4. Patience--work on developing some sense of it.
5. Work on my deen by rectifying my life. It's not so easy to change your life--especially when one has leaped from one religion to another. I'm not sure if it's like straddling a fence or a canyon. Maybe more like moving your house using a two-door hatchback. It's gonna take a while, and that state of disorganization and confusion is probably gonna be persistent for longer than I would like. This is where the patience comes in...
6. Paint something--even if it's just some fruit or a landscape.
7. Move around more--exercise, go for a walk, something.
8. Stop procrastinating!! ARghhh!!!
9. Carry around my camera. Having that ability to take pictures on the spot keeps me focused on the visual interestingness around me. This is good.
10. Stop reading the comments sections on articles about Arabs, Muslims or Islam. All it does is make me paranoid when walking down the street that I'm going to be the victim of a hate crime. This is stupid. Even if I will be, why walk around worrying about it?
4 comments:
I usually refuse to make new years resolutions, but I was nodding my head at most of yours, especially that last one. For the coming year, I resolve to never read the talkback section for Ha'aretz. It's a pretty good news source for the Israel/Palestinian issues, but the comments are awful. Reading it can put me in a bad mood for hours. Good luck for the new year. I have enjoyed reading your blog.
Thanks so much! It's funny--I can never quite convince myself that people read this. Maybe it's better that way--I won't self-censor so much. Good luck to you too!
Salam Beth! How is it going back in the good old US?
Salam back at you! Well, it's a bit boring actually. I managed to find a job I think I will like, and school starts up again soon, so hopefully my last semester of grad school will flyyyyy! After that, there is a fairly good chance I will end up moving to Jordan (inshallah) but there are so many other contending factors on my life flow-chart, that I can't make a call--it's too close! I hope all is well on your end. :)
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