#MondayMusings : Getting Back on Track

There are so many things lately that I feel like I’ve forgotten, or procrastinated, or just plain ignored. It’s time to get back on the right path, and start heading in the right direction.

 

 

There are at least three personal areas of my life that I feel I’ve lost my way:

• Two years ago, I ran a half-marathon. It was painful, it was frustrating, I thought I would die… but it was an awesome experience. I might have been one the last people across that finish line (took a touch over three hours), but I crossed it. And then I stopped running.
  • Since then I’ve run a few times here and there, but not with any kind of regularity. Excuses excuses excuses.
  • But last week I made a new workout schedule. I’ve ran the last two days, and will run at least two more days this week — and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
  • Ultimate goal: Chicago Marathon 2017. (eek)
• I’ve been a reader my entire life. It’s what defined me when I was a child; but sometime, somewhere, for some reason… I stopped. <GASP> Not completely; I still read from time to time. But I used to devour books; I’d whip through enormous tomes in a week. But for at least the last couple of years, it’s felt more like a chore than the fun that it used to be; I would be interested while I read, but as soon as I put the book down, it took so much to pick it back up again.
  • I added my Classics Club reading list to this blog, and I started a new Goodreads account from scratch. I want to actually read my book list, and I want to figure out some way to hold myself accountable.
  • I have an hour-long commute every day. I am going to stop surfing the web and instead, read the books that are weighing down my bag. I mean, what’s the point in carrying them if I’m just going to ignore them?
  • Ultimate goal: finish my book list (which isn’t just books, it’s also plays and poems, relatively short pieces) by the due date — May 2019.
• I want to be a writer. I want to write poetry and prose, and I want to share it. I’d love to be able to make a living at it — writing, and editing fiction if the writing isn’t enough. And first things first: I need to get back into practice.
  • There are notebooks filled with ideas. I’ve got books of writing prompts. I’m not short on places to begin, I just needed something to convince me to put pen to paper. Hence this blog.
  • I’ve put together a schedule, posting most days. Primarily there will be random thoughts, creative pieces, and book reviews (following the whole “reading more” goal). If something is ever going to stop being a dream, then I have to put myself out in the world.
  • I also have a list of contests to enter, and I’m going to do my best to submit to as many as possible.
  • Ultimate goal: work, from home, on my own terms (this is one of those really really long-term goals).

So there we are. At one point in my life or another, I’ve identified myself as a runner, a reader, and a writer. And as of right now, I finally consider myself all of those things again.