i love when it's the new year because i have this belief that it's an opportunity to start over. who would pass up a chance like that? now here's the time for me to make things better. i like new years because i'm given a new hope (aba, parang Star Wars).

anyway, what's the new year without resolutions? so far, i haven't kept any of my new year's resolutions. let's hope that this year would be different. this year i resolve to:
  • stop smoking. i've been smoking on and off since my second year of college. i'm not addicted to it, but for some reason-- maybe stress, overeating, or social situations-- it has been difficult for me to kick the habit. it was the worst during my 3rd year and some parts of 4th year, when i used to smoke half a pack a day. sure, that's nothing compared to others. but the reality is that my health is not what it used to be; my breathing has significantly changed, and i'm not as resilient as before. also, i'm not getting any younger, and smoking would only aggravate whatever skin condition/s i might have. (so for once, advertisements are actually saying the truth.)so for once and for all, I WILL STOP SMOKING.
  • keep the ranting at a minimum. for me, this is more difficult than quitting smoking (haha). i've been ranting a lot the past year, and i actually feel sorry for the people who have been witnessing my bitchy manic-depressive behavior. besides, i think i can control myself.
  • make the most of whatever situation i'm in. i realize that basically, i don't have a choice on everything in my life; there are things i just can't control and i can't have my way all the time. (wow, is this me actually sounding mature? di ata bagay. nyehehe.) i guess it wouldn't be so bad if i tried. i wouldn't want to think of myself as a failure, and much less others seeing me as one. i finally realized that i should be proactive in these kinds of situations, instead of just waiting for other people to make things happen for me.
  • get better at my art. art is one of the things that literally keeps me sane. i'm not that good at photography/painting (yet), but i love doing it, and i will probably keep doing it for the rest of my life. practice makes perfect, right? (then again there's the counter that "nobody's perfect, so why practice?" -- but nevermind that. haha.) oh yeah, i would also like to be reunited with writing and filmmaking :)
  • be more humanitarian. it's about time that i stop thinking of myself. there are millions of people out there who are in worse conditions than i am. i realize that instead of complaining, i should be thankful for everything that i have and use whatever means i have, no matter how small, to make the world a better place. i guess i'm not such a bad person as i thought.
  • save. i do allocate a chunk of my salary for my savings account. this year i'm increasing this chunk if i'm going to follow through with my plans (which will be for another post).