New Year Resolutions!

So, I figured I should write down my resolutions for the new year! I hope this helps to inspire others and that it makes me accountable!

1. Run (or cross train) at least one mile every day. I'll have to figure out the cross training details later, but for now I want at least that. It will force me to get out of my apartment every day, even if it's to go to a treadmill, since the weather will soon be pretty bleak.

2. Read a new book every week. Another blogger, Lindsay Nixon (aka Happy Herbivore), completed this challenge for 2014. Since I enjoy reading, it should be fun. However, it will force me to get outside of my comfort zone and read different books. Any recommendations are appreciated!

3. Do a Whole30 and maybe turn it into a whole 365. This is going to be really hard for me, as I adore take-out, especially Chinese food! I'm hoping that Michelle Tam will be helpful, as she will be posting a new Whole30 meal every day for the month of January. Yum!

4. Not buy anything new, unless I actually need it. Toiletries and the like don't count, as those will be used up. I will focus on repairing broken stuff and buying second-hand if I need. For example, if Gorby breaks my final drinking glass...

5. Writing more! I'm going to hold myself accountable by blogging about my experiences.

Well, there they are! Here's hoping that I can stick with all of them! Wish me luck. :)

Not broken, just a bit bent

Today I couldn't stop crying. Not even a little. I stopped for a few minutes and then it all came out again. Like a red-faced, runny-nosed fountain. I was in a Chinese restaurant eating my rice and General Tso's Tofu and cried twice. I cried on my bike ride home, after a couple told me to ride on the sidewalk. (They ended up apologizing, but I was already in tears. Bet they felt terrible, even though my crying really wasn't their fault.) Once I got home, I cried a bit more.

Then it stopped.

I talked to a dear friend and he ranted and raved to me about how to fix my problem (he's been in a very similar situation) and then he told me something.

"Have a pity party. The biggest saddest one you can think of. Then find something to do." He told me exactly what I needed to hear: that nothing was wrong with me for being so very sad. Because I'm in a new place, with no friends, no support network and no hobbies. He told me to do something that makes me feel uncomfortable. Play rugby, learn how to salsa dance, take knitting lessons.

It eventually clicked. I'm not broken, just a bit bent. And that's fine. Everyone's a bit bent. And the beauty is, sometimes life's better a bit crooked.

So now I suppose I'm going to look into playing rugby. Because if I'm a bit bent, my nose following suit shouldn't be such a big deal. ;)

Loneliness

This morning I had breakfast with a fellow who is going through a similar crisis as myself. He is reducing the quantity of his friends for more quality.

In pursuing minimalism, I've decided to apply the same concepts to my personal life. I've decided that people who treat me as though I'm somehow a lesser person don't belong in my life. Because of that, I have very few people I can talk to. Actually, I was simply looking for a scapegoat. I had just as many people that I talked to after this change as before it.

After our breakfast, I thanked this man for the decision to hang out. He then said something that really struck me. He said, "It was either hanging out with you or crushing loneliness". I realized, as soon as he said that, that "crushing loneliness" was exactly what I had been feeling lately.

After this thought, I had a realization. After every life decision there will be some changes. These changes will sometimes seem absolutely miserable and make you look deep inside yourself, but in the end, they make you better. It's not your life they make better, it's you. I decided to sort out the friends who didn't make me feel special from the ones who did. In doing so, I've become extremely lonely, but I have also opened up the way for some amazing people to walk into my life.

I buzzed off all my hair!

Aha! I've finally figured out how to actually write this post! As the title says, I have shaved my head. Why, you ask? Simply put, I became exhausted with hair in general. It's messy and gets tangled. In addition, there's so much you need to maintain it. Even though I only had a pixie before buzzing my hair, I had two hairbrushes, a hair dryer, a flat iron, shampoo and conditioner. Now what do I have?! NOTHING! It's terrific, really.

The process was actually quite painless. I went to the salon and told the stylist, Frederick, what I wanted. He laughed nervously and said, "We'll use scissors to make sure, okay?" I humored him and let him trim my hair for a few minutes before I laughed diabolically and told him to buzz it. Now here I am, with a buzz cut and a grin on my face!

I wanted to write this post to encourage any women or men who are considering shaving (or even just cutting) their hair. I understand that a lot of people have an emotional attachment to their hair and I want you to know that you are not your hair!

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or just want to put in a word. Thanks! :)