Happy New Year everyone!! New Year's Eve is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. Why's that? Well, it's the only holiday that asks of no superficial gift-giving, involves reminiscing AND looking into the future and includes popping open a bottle of bubbly. What's not to love? Best of all, you get a chance to say goodbye to the previous year (think about all the good parts of it and brush off any of the negatives as bygones) and say hello to a new year full of endless potential.
I don't make resolutions, per say, but I always like to make a list of things that I'm planning/hoping for in my personal life for the year. In 2013, I started learning new things, but this year, I'm really going to dive in!
This year, 2014, will be my year of learning. Now that I've gotten a few pieces of paper called diplomas and what most call a "higher" education, you might think that I've had enough of educating myself. Just the opposite. I think now that I have been freed into the world of "real experiences," I can finally take on learning new things because I want to and not because my professors are breathing down my neck.
My goals are to learn new things that make me smile, make me happy, have me thinking intelligently to solve problems, or have me trying new things for the pure experience of trying something new.
I hope to learn more of the following things this year:
- more coding (JavaScript mostly)
- how to create an App
- UK botany and wildlife
- UK endangered species and habitat surveying techniques
- guitar (let's see if I can finally make this happen!)
- how to drive in the UK (yes, I'm back to taking drivers tests)
- Publishing a manuscript in a scientific journal
- change management and project management skills
