I learned this year that it’s important to have goals and to constantly strive to achieve them. I also learned that other events might interrupt your temporary plans, but you should be long-term goal-oriented as well. Finding a way to find yourself among the chaos is a worthy achievement. Don’t let what scares or intimidates you hold you back from a new experience.

You just might find that you like something new or that you have the chance to be one of those kind souls you read about in blog land. You can develop new friendships that will help you to promote yourself and give you something more to blog about. This will help you grow into what you want to see in the world – selflessness, sharing, and sympathy.

Other people are not always going to be happy with every choice you make, but even a spouse or parent isn’t the one in charge of your happiness and pride – they are there to encourage that behavior and share it with you. No matter your choice – don’t disappoint yourself or have regrets. Learn from it all and move on. Others might not always be able to be there for you so stay positive and be there for yourself.

I learned that it’s important to have goals, but not necessarily stick to them. It’s like taking multiple trails to the same peak – the view is the same at the top, but the markers along the way kept you from getting lost. I thought I might be disappointed in not reaching all my New Years resolutions, but I have to give myself credit for trying. I learned more about what I like – blogging and hiking, and that I didn’t set a goal to accomplish either.