02 January 2018

2016 resolutions: retrospective

Before moving onto (a new format) for 2017 resolutions, here's a progress check on how I've done in the past year:

  • Overarching theme of being patient and trying harder: I think I accomplished this? I don't recall specific events or actions that qualify, but I have been less hard on myself which is related to being patient. I've also not slacked off in school (both final year and also in grad) so that counts towards trying harder? Communicating better through fighting issues out with Jeff instead of burying any disagreements is my biggest improvement in trying harder. Also been pushing myself to be decently social with photography club activities. 
  • 1-in-1-out for clothing purchases: haha yeah this definitely didn't happen. Retry!
  • Exercise more: I didn't keep up the light jumping jacks but am doing some body weight exercises circuit style. Writing down exercising as an activity in my planner has been the most helpful in keeping up the habit. I also feel a slight improvement in my physical abilities. 
  • G2 & bike: hahaha...nope. Still hoping for faster widespread adoption of self-driving cars! I did ride a bike one evening, and safely looped around the block multiple times. It was quite uncomfortable and I was super tense the whole time, which made for a bad experience so I never continued. I do want to bike, so perhaps I need the financial pressure of owning my own bike before I can summon sufficient willpower. 
  • Pickle and bake more: pickling - no, baking - yes :D at least until I came to Bath. 
  • Learn Japanese: I did actually learn hiragana well, but that's the extent of it. And now I've forgotten pretty much everything, opps. 
  • Grad school apps: clearly not good enough for Cambridge but oh wells! At the very least I can say that my personal statements aren't full of bullshit. 
...

Later add-on:

The best decision I made in 2016 is to get an IUD. First because it was covered under my student insurance as well as my mom's insurance, so I paid nothing for the item and procedure. Second it stopped my hormonal acne from appearing so my skin's pretty much clear and free of any primary concerns. Third because I chose an IUD that's the most likely to prevent periods from occurring, and life is so much better without having to deal with periods and cramps. Even if I paid out of pocket, the savings from buying menstrual products would have been worth it (and all the extra luggage space now that I don't have to bring pads on trips). Luckily I didn't experience much side-effects aside from continuous spotting for the first month, so my experience likely lies on the positive end of the spectrum. 

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