Instead, I like to space making resolutions out. I reassess and make resolutions for my birthday in April, the Jewish New Year (which typically falls in September), and the traditional New Year’s Eve.
However, this year, I have been too stressed over suddenly needing to move Home that I just put off the idea of making resolutions.
It’s an adjustment, is my answer to people who ask what it’s like to move back Home as a young professional adult.
Having skipped 2011 NYE resolutions, I’m working to get a head start on my birthday.
These resolutions are much more complicated, being tied to an age. I’ve always been a bit sensitive about my age — but not in the traditional manner.
As a kid, people always commented on how mature I was. The way I explain it, I grew up quickly and took on adult responsibilities and challenges early in life that made me a stronger person. I also worked all through high school and college.
Still, the “you’re just a kid” attitude associated with being in one’s 20s is irksome.
(Well, here’s the deal. In a month, I turn 29, the age when the average woman starts feeling old. And, yes, I may be once again living at Home, but I’m no kid. I’m a capable professional woman.)
And at least I’m not alone in having to move home, according to the New York Times and Times Magazine.
So, I’ve started praying again. And not just because I could really use G-d’s help after a run of difficult challenges, but because I remember being really happy as a kid during morning T’fillot.
(T’fillot means prayer in Hebrew. I went to a Jewish day school and some incredibly fond memories. Once we learned the Hebrew alphabet, our parents presented us with our own prayer books they’d decorated. Parents spent months working on these beautiful covers — I still remember the ballet shoes on my best friend J’s. We were six.)
All this praying gets me thinking about what I really want out of life — my purpose. It’s something I’ve considered a fluid concept before.
And now, as I find myself not where I thought I would be, I start to think about what I want.
The 20s stigma won’t apply much longer, as I’m now a month before my 29th birthday, something not lost on my resolutions. I resolve that I want:
- to design events
- to write books, articles and a personal blog
- to be a wife and a mother
(What did you expect? No comment, really? It may not be “PC” to say, but I’m excited to be a wife. I don’t just want to get married for the sake of it. I want to fall in love and marry my best friend, just like every other nice Jewish girl. And then I want to have kids. I’ve got time, but I like to plan ahead.)
Oh yeah, and I don't really want to be living back at Home or be in debt. And I'd like to be healthy and happy.
So, is that too much?
It’s not like I think I can just magic it all into place. I know it’ll take hard work — all of it. I’m working on a plan.
With years of journalism writing experience, I find it more difficult to write about myself. But that’s why I’m committing to by resuming this blog.
In Nosy Parker, I will share my (sometimes turbulent) journey of personal and professional growth, sprinkled with favorite recipes, projects and more.
