Whatever Wednesday: Our Solutions for a Beautiful 2014

Well, I hope everyone had an excellent New Year’s Eve, celebrating the end of 2013 and bringing in 2014 in some meaningful way.  I spent my evening with my partner and our little animal family, watching back-to-back episodes of Community.

So today’s post is coming a little late, mostly because I was determined to spend the first day of the year in an excessively productive manner.  I FINALLY cleaned the house for the first time since I broke my arm (by the way, my cast is GONE!!!) and watched the Masterpiece Theater Production of Mansfield Park with Billie Piper as Fanny Price because duh Billie Piper.  I am just now settling down to write my entry.

The BB and I discussed what to write about for this week’s Whatever Wednesday, and in keeping with our theme of New Year’s Solutions (check yesterday’s entry for information on why we aren’t calling them resolutions anymore), we decided to give you a look into what our solutions are for 2014.  We are by no means perfect, nor do we have our lives together, but we feel like we’re on the right track to make this year the happiest and healthiest to date. 

Without further ado, here is my list!

   1.  Find a job.  So I already have a job at my local Dollar Tree, but I mean something that I actually like doing (sorry to all my coworkers/bosses if you’re reading this!  It isn’t you), like using my teaching license.  However, and this is something I haven’t disclosed to everyone, so HERE IT IS, I don’t even know if that’s where I want to go.  Maybe it is because I have been so focused on teaching and because I’ve never really given myself a fair chance to consider something else, but now that I have this degree and I’m done (for now), I’m realizing just how HUGE this world is and how many opportunities I have.  Whatever I decide to do, whether it is teaching or nonprofit work or writing, I will always work hard to be an advocate for and an ally to young people, which, if you couldn’t tell by my super subtle bold type, brings me to point number two.

   2.   Be an advocate for and an ally to young people.  So number one is basically about doing something I love and also becoming more financially stable.  But this one is PURELY about doing what I think is important.  During my student teaching, I learned that I absolutely love to teach, but more importantly, I connected with my students in a way that made me realize how important it is to listen to teenagers and help them have their voices heard.  Those kids were capable of doing so many incredible, powerful things, but didn’t always have someone listening.  No matter what I do, I want to do something with high school students. 

   3.     Take some time out of every day to read.  This might sound crazy, but I never get to read anymore.  When I was younger, I read constantly.  During the summer, my mom would make me go outside to play, so I’d take my books, build a fort or climb a tree, and just read outside.  That’s playing, right?  But when I started college, I stopped reading just for fun.  Yeah, I read a book here or there on break, but nothing like what I used to do.  So I’m going to try to read at least a little every day, even if it is just twenty minutes before bed.

   4.     Practice healthy living.  This is important to me, because I want to always feel happy and healthy and wonderful…I mean, who wouldn’t?  So I’m going to try to make my body happy by eating better foods (but no, that doesn’t mean I’m totally giving up my Cheetos…gotta have junk food sometimes) and by doing the kinds of exercise I enjoy, like walking.  I’m not making any specific kinds of time commitments because that’s exactly what will make this fail, and besides, that’s not what this is about.  This is not about creating an obligation to myself.  This is about creating healthy habits that I will want to keep up forever.

    5.     Spend more time with family.  As a student, I didn’t have the flexibility to go and spend time with family.  But now, I can make time for both my family and my partner’s family.

    6.     Find some new hobbies.  So this is similar to the “make more time for reading” thing.  But when I was in high school, and even community college, I had a ton of interests.  Besides reading, I loved to write, play guitar, play piano, go for walks, and do all kinds of things.  But I’ve become a pretty boring person.  In my free time, I basically just peruse the internet or watch Netflix.  These things are not bad, but I feel like I’m losing the kind of person I’ve always been.  I want to reclaim myself by picking up some of those old hobbies again, and even finding new ones!

    7.     Keep writing this blog.  This blog is one of the most important things about my life right now.  The BB and I feel that writing about our journey to self-acceptance is a great form of advocacy, and it is doing wonders for me just to see how many people are reading and supporting us. 

I hope you enjoyed this list (if you read it all!) and that it inspires other people to think about their own 2014 Solutions.  Check back later for the BB’s post, and then again tomorrow for Throwback Thursday!




Following that inspiring and awesome list from the WW, is a list from the BB!


1. WRITE

Okay, so I loved college, but one of the huge drawbacks is having no time to pursue outside interests. Writing is one of my biggest passions and I have neglected it for years. So, now that I have time, that includes this blog and the many novels I hope to pen! Maybe even some academic and research publications. For the first time in awhile, I feel empowered to write across many genres.

2. LOVE MYSELF

This means go for it, and be awesome, no matter who is looking at my mind, body, ideas, period. This is a broad one but it's so important. Eventually, I hope loving myself becomes an unconscious act. For a fatty, that's a difficult achievement.



3. ADVOCATE

I want to continue advocating for women, the lgbtq community, and youth. But I also want to start a new advocacy that's a long time coming. I guess today is a day for confessions on the Gribbski blog. I have struggled with diagnosed anxiety issues since I was thirteen (though the diagnosis came later after a lot of shame and self doubt) and more than anything I have always wanted to write about and advocate for myself and others with these types of disorders. There are a slew of judgments, stereotypes, and sources of incorrect information surrounding this issue. For many people emotional disorders are guilty closeted. I hope to write from experience and research to advocate for youth, women, and really anyone dealing with these issues. And that is a long time coming for me!

Here's to a happy and successful 2014!