Personal Vision Statements for 2011

Our home community did this activity on January 4th. We were to meditate, search within ourselves, seek God and write personal vision statements for the year. This was to be different from the typical New Year's Resolutions. Resolutions tend to be short-term and most people never follow through. For instance, my gym is crowded with people who made resolutions to lose weight and exercise but in almost no time they drop out. Then, things go back to normal.

Vision statements are meant to be broader and something we continuosly work on but trust His grace, hold on to faith, hope for the better, and deny our selves to seek the deeper spiritual things.

PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS FOR 2011

BOLDNESS - Be bold. Take reasonable risks. Try out new things, experiment and venture out. Do not be a chicken when I should be a confident, soaring eagle. Do not look back at my past mistakes, tragedies, situations, failures with resentment and fear. The past is a part of my life and a reality that I can never get around. However, I should look at my past as a leap of victory and realizing that only through grace I am a true overcomer. I picture myself as a warrior princess in perfect peace, harmony, trust of the high commander and in charge of my life. I kick ass and don't let bad circumstances take over.

Boldness also means not being afraid to pursue dreams, desires and ambitions. There is a reason that it exists in my heart. I desire boldness to pursue:

• University involvement - it's intimidating to take a leadership position or step out when I'm surrounded by intellectual, talented people. Even thought it can be intimidating, I count it as a blessing because it's a journey to learn from them, let them be agents in my own intellectual growth. I will ask for advice, evaluate myself and just go for it. So far, I am enjoying being involved in Ooligan Press. There's no much to learn and I feel lost sometimes but my classmates, professors have been great.

• Relationships and ties - I always enjoy being with different types of people. I'm proud of the fact that my friends have completely different political views, faiths, and backgrounds and experiences. Differences help us grow together. Yet, some people can be scary. I like to expand my circles and go out and get to know different types of people. The more varied - the better! I definitely need boldness, patience and humility to get out of my comfort zone and go out and meet different people.

• I will esteem and value ties in my life. There are wonderful people in my life and I am thankful for genuine fellowship. I want to let them know how much they mean to me. I need boldness to also learn to be open, less guarded, and let the important people in my life know that they are valued and loved by me.

• Break up with toxic people - What a paradox! Sometimes I learned that it is better to cut off ties with toxic people. Mutual respect is a necessity in any relationship. Without that a healthy, genuine relationship cannot exist. I do not like to disappoint or hurt people. Let's face it, breaking up is never pleasant - whether a boyfriend, friend or family member. But sometimes it is necessary. I need boldness to set healthy boundaries and break off harmful ties. I need boldness to understand that I should sometimes not feel guilty for having to cut off ties with toxic people.

• Boldness to "step out" in my novel - I feel that there is a real purpose and reason why I was impressed to write the topic and characters. There are difficult things and some situations that challenge me to examine myself, my perspectives, views and experiences. When I'm writing I'm wrestling with myself and pondering some thoughts that wouldn't make pleasant dinner party conversations. I want to step out and I will. It'll serve as an opportunity to grow as a writer (and in the mind).

CONTINUE TO SEEK OUT THE GENUINE - I always found the fake, pretentious things of life to be repulsive. I cannot stand fake, pretentious places, situations and especially a fake, pretentious faith! Maybe this is reflective of my generation's culture to hate the fake. I can spot insincerity instantly. I will continue to value and seek out the genuine. I will continue to not be what I hate. (I realize that I may have had some pretentious moments in my life too). I desire the genuine and true meaning.

DISCIPLINED/ORGANIZED - No need to explain but it is a necessity in managing life and keeping your sanity. I have a hectic, busy life. I work full-time and a grad student. I am also involved in volunteer activities, hobbies and passions. And I want to exercise regularly, make time for friends and have time to relax. Then there's my finances. Last year, I was somewhat sloppy and needed improvement in organization. I have a plan to organize time, which will be consistently followed. I also have an existing system that I use to manage my finances but I will improve on it and come with a realistic budget. Enough said!

CREATIVITY - I will spend at least a few hours on a Saturday writing, scrapbooking, painting or doing something creative. Coming up with ideas is never an issue. I always have them. The tricky part is taking the time to sit down and do it. I am thankful to have weekends off. Saturdays afternoons are my designated time for creativity. I will also use other times. Sometimes I actually write in my planner the time I will spend for my creative endeavors. I have several on-going projects:

• My First Novel - I am working on it piece by piece. I worked on it during the winter holiday.

• Argentina Trip Scrapbook - This will be a relaxing thing to do when I don't want something that takes a lot of mental focus. I have a really cool photo printer and the pictures come out great.

• Paintings - I felt impressed on me to paint self-portrait and maybe paintings about my growing up and life.

• Dancing - I'm already a salsa dancing fanatic. I also tried swing dancing. I want to continue to take dance classes but want to focus on salsa. I will continue to go out dancing and have a great time.

Of course, several others will come up. I am taking writing classes at PSU and these take priority over everything else. The projects are always going to be there and I attend to them when there's time and when I feel the itch to do it.

UNWIND/RELAX - With all that I do, I still make time to relax, unwind and recharge. I will try things like baths, sipping chamomile tea, listening to relaxing music, doing my nails and take quiet, reflective, meditative moments to unplug from everything. It's for the sake of my sanity and an escape from the world that is fast-paced, busy, full of noise and troubles. In this quiet space, I have a renewed mind. I enjoy relaxing. This makes me realize that I'm not super-woman and need to understand that even though I have strengths I am also weak in some areas. Thus, I acknowledge grace.

These seem simple, straightforward but all of these have a higher purpose. I certainly know what they are.