2015 is quickly approaching, so it’s time for my semi-annual list of resolutions and/or stuff I’m going to work on improving in the next year. Let’s go.

• Take a walk each day or at least seriously consider it
• Don’t spend too much time wearing pants
• Maybe gain a couple kilo’s
• Take every opportunity as a reason to give up
• Don’t let anything get in the way of eating an entire carton of ice cream in one sitting
• Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and just focus on butts
• See the world through the magic of the Internet
• Spend more time doing what really matters – Watching Netflix
• Forget past mistakes and press on to make newer, greater mistakes
• Stop making resolutions, just get out there and start eating cheese

I feel like enough people have gone on about how silly resolutions can be. Most people will set lofty but admirable goals that they probably won’t be able to keep, some may not bother at all. I’ve found goals to be a driving force in my motivations this year, though, so I think there is merit to resolutions. But let’s be reasonable. So how about some actual resolutions:

• Exercise more
• Be more concious of what I eat
• Get more sleep
• Be more social

Vague goals are just as important as specific goals, I think. They’re a framework for success, and I’ve found I work well with frameworks.

• Keep doing what I’m doing

This is probably the first year I can think of where one of my main goals is to keep up what I’ve been doing the previous year. 2014 was a huge year. Not only did I decide to go back to school, but I actually went back to school. And I moved to Toronto to do it! It goes without saying that it has been not only one of the biggest decisions I have ever made in my life, but quite possibly also the most successful. Not only am I finally working at something that suits me, I’m loving every moment of it. I’m thousands of kilometres away from my friends and family in Saskatoon, but I’m flourishing like I never could have expected. Toronto is a huge city full of things to discover, and I haven’t even started. I’m making friends, contacts, and succeeding in the things I’m focusing on. More importantly, I’m finally focusing.

That’s not to say that 2014 hasn’t been without it’s bumps. While moving to Toronto has turned out to be a fantastic decision, it wasn’t without its stresses. Being away from everyone and everything I know wasn’t easy, but it’s paying off. Being a full time student again has been amazing for my personal growth, but having no income while in school has been its own source of stress. But these hiccups have also helped strengthen my resolve and have shown be that I truly can rely on my family when I am in times of need, and for that I’m truly thankful.

2014 is also the year where I learned the unfortunate news that one of my best friends has cancer. The prognosis couldn’t be better, but this is the first time that such a thing has happened so closely to me. My Opa died of cancer when I was 7 or 8, but I was much too young to really appreciate or understand what was happening at the time. I’m older now, with an understanding of the world. It’s a shame that understanding be sometimes born out of tragedy, but that’s also where the most beautiful poetry is pulled from.

Friends have been getting married, having kids, and in some cases even divorced. It’s all too easy to sit back and look at other peoples lives and think I’m being passed by, that I’m not checking off boxes, that I’ll be 28 next year and maybe finishing my program and getting my first diploma while others may be finishing their masters or PHDs. But that’s not the case. Everyone is the star of their own story, and just a supporting character or even an extra in everyone else’s. Not only am I the star of my own story, but I’m the writer and director as well. My decisions have been right for me and they’re paying off beyond what I ever imagined. In 2014 I’ve been happier than in any previous year. I’ve worked harder, succeeded more, and have been in every way imaginable more healthy.

For 2015 I resolve to keep it up. To keep working hard, to keep moving forward, and to not get caught up in “what-ifs”. I resolve to keep adding on to the framework I’ve set up, to climb higher, and to continue on this road that leads to the best me I’ve ever been.

So here’s to 2014, a good year. And here’s to 2015, let’s make sure it can live up to the memory of 2014 that we’re leaving behind.