Resolutions. Do you make them? I’m 50 now, and so I think of resolutions more like goals I can set at any time. However, I’d lie if I didn’t think about resolutions and goals a little more at the start of a new year. But I might make resolutions a dozen times in 2021.
Speaking of New Year’s, Kristi and I had a fun New Year’s Eve. We made a charcuterie board spread and watched Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, the only time of year that seven-figure anchors admit to getting drunk on-air. I’m OK with admitting that I loved the broadcast. I cackled, and we were 100 percent sober.
I also had to get up early on New Year’s morning to help with digital coverage of some big snowfall that fell on Oklahoma. We got 6-7 inches, at least, in northwest Oklahoma City.
It used to be that I hated snow, loathed it. I think my biggest reason for hating it was because I didn’t have the proper vehicle for driving in it.
Now I drive a Subaru Foerster.
But also, technology has come a long way since I started in digital news. We can do almost everything remotely. And that we did.
Also, I’m not a person who says “good riddance” to any year, even 2020, because for many people, it’s when a baby was born or a marriage was started. Maybe somebody graduated from college or started a new business. But when it came time to write up some goals for 2021, you can believe that 2020 had a big influence. I think we can all say we learned a lot.
So, here’s a go at what I’d consider my resolutions for 2021.
Watching my health. What does that mean? First and foremost, it means trying not to get COVID-19. But it also means I should move more, whether that’s running or walking or biking or cleaning the house or shooting hoops. It’s important that I do more of it outside where I can get that vital Vitamin D. Also on the list is to drink more green tea and red wine more often.
Read more books. I’ve got a big stack of books ready to go (memoirs, biographies are my favorites but almost exclusively non-fiction), but I want to add important books by Black authors to that list. I’m open to suggestions because I’m not well-versed on the topic other than what I find on the internet, but I’ve started with ‘Between The World And Me’ by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It won the 2015 National Book Award for non-fiction, and the quote on the front of the book from Toni Morrison says it all: “This is required reading.” OK, consider it done.
Write and produce more music. This one is pretty simple. I want to compose more and actually turn it into something. Goodness knows I have the equipment to do it here at the house. But when it comes to consuming music, I aim to put my money where my mouth is relative to songwriters and musicians I like. That means buying albums and merch and eventually going to shows. For Christmas, my wife and I bought a virtual concert from one of our favorite singer-songwriters. There are a couple songwriters I adore whom I need to support better. There’s one guy in particular whose music I’ve revered for years, and I’ve only streamed him. I’ve never bought an album. It’s stealing, or at least it is in my conscience.
Study jazz. Listen to more classic albums. Dig into my Real Book. Use YouTube lessons to improve my technique. I’m not a bad player, but my theory is super novice and my technique is pretty amateur, at least compared to what I think my potential is.
Study digital content (my craft) deeper, the ins-and-outs of all platforms. Experiment a lot this year and write about what I learn.
That’s largely it for 2021. Would love to read your resolutions! Add them to the comments below.
Featured image comes from Flickr, specifically from Marco Verch.
