Resolutions – Alaina O'Neal

It’s almost that time of year again.

In a few short days, a new year will be upon us, and the promise of a fresh start will arrive with it. Millions of people will soon be making new resolutions. Perhaps some will vow to pay off debt. Others will promise to travel to new places. We all (hopefully) will try to live a healthier lifestyle — and we will probably succeed for at least the first two weeks of January.

And as we prepare to embark on this clean slate, it is only natural to reflect on the past year as well.

For me, that’s easy to do — at least since June, when I began writing this column.

My resolution going into 2014 was to have new experiences. And halfway through the year, I realized I hadn’t been following through.

I was far too busy living a monotonous routine. I worked a 9-5. On the weekends, I would do the same activities with the same group of friends. Monday nights were reserved for The Bachelor and Wednesdays were for Modern Family. I went to the same gym and did the same workouts on the same three days a week. I stayed busy, and I was comfortable. But I was also bored.

I realized one of my greatest fears in life was perhaps becoming stagnant. And by mid-year 2014, as I began to reflect on how quickly time was flashing before my eyes, I realized that 2015 would arrive quickly, and I would have little to show for it if I continued on the same path.

I am proud to say that the last half of the year did not have the same result.

Continue reading “Designer’s desk: The conclusion”

Someone once told me the average person has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day, and that 90 percent of those thoughts are the same as the day before.

I’m a little skeptical on how accurately the average amount of thoughts can be measured from person to person, including how much they vary from day to day. But if it is true, it’s a little disheartening. I realize that we as humans are creatures of habit. I am often guilty of following the same routine from week to week, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Actually, I would even go so far as to say that following a schedule is healthy. But it also lacks challenge, and I wonder how much (or little) effort it would take to allow ourselves more than just 10 percent-worth of new daily thoughts. Learning something different always feels like an accomplishment, at least for me, and my favorite way to do that is through new experiences.

That’s why my New Year’s resolution was to experience new things. Now that it is halfway into the year 2014, I realize that I could not have made that goal any more vague if I had tried. However, I can say with certainty that I have done at least two things this year that I have definitely never done before.

My first new experience? I broke a bone, in my right index finger.

My “clicking finger.” As a designer, it was probably one of the few injuries that could potentially affect my work. I wish I had a better story for how it happened when people ask, but I smashed it with my car door. I don’t recommend trying it.

The second new experience I had this year was that I let myself run out of gas. Not: “My gaslight was on, and whew, that was a close one!” My car actually stopped running because it literally had no more fuel. I don’t have a good excuse for letting this happen, either. Actually, I had just passed a gas station about a mile before when my car started to sputter to a halt.

My only defense is that I was running late, and I drive a fuel-efficient car — which I thought could run forever. Alas, it does not. Who knew?

Continue reading “Designer’s Desk: Starting resolutions”