2015: Breaking Outside of My Comfort Zone

Well, Happy New Year!! 

The door of 2014 is officially closed, which means I get to finally leave behind my high school years for good, and any other not-so-stellar things that happened in 2014. Today is the first of 365 new pages, and it’s a chance for me to start fresh. I can be whoever I want to be in 2015, and it’s up to me to take advantage of everything I can to make 2015 the best year yet.

Instead of making regular New Year’s resolutions, I’ve decided to center my goals for 2015 around a common theme. The theme I’ve chosen for 2015 is “Breaking Outside My Comfort Zone.” I chose this theme because in 2014, I just skated by. Yes, I worked hard in school and successfully completed my first semester of college. But the thing is, I think I would have enjoyed my first semester of college more if I had pushed outside of my comfort zone when it came to meeting new people and getting involved in things that I’ve never done before.

In order to make 2015 a great year, it’s going to take some effort and initiative on my part. Here are my 4 main goals for 2015:

Workout at least 5x a week for at least 30 minutes. In years past, working out more has always been a New Year's resolution for me. But notice how specific I'm being this year. I've set a specific number of times and time minimum for myself, so I can't talk myself out of anything. There's no "I don't feel like it" or "I'm too busy" excuses that will work this time. At school there's a gym right across the street from my dorm, so again, there's no excuses.

Make an effort with people. At a large school like Ohio State, it can be hard forming relationships and friendships with people. In large 600-person lecture halls like some of the ones I was in last semester, you can make good conversation with someone and never see them again. This definitely goes along with the theme of breaking outside my comfort zone because in order to form more meaningful friendships, it’s going to take an effort on my part in getting together with people. They say college friends are some of the best friends you’ll ever make, but that won’t happen unless I make the effort.

Blog at least every Monday. I started Classic Colleen this past June, and I can honestly say it’s been good for me. Although I haven’t been involved too much in the blogosphere, it’s been a good experience putting myself out there and learning some things about blogging along the way. The craziness of my first semester of college sort of got in the way of consistently posting, so I’m setting a specific goal for myself to blog every Monday. More posting would be better of course, but setting a minimum for myself will force myself to take time out of my crazy schedule to blog. I don’t have all the technology (ie the best camera) nor the funds to dish out to do OOTD posts, so I’m sort of making this blog into more of a college lifestyle blog with a little bit of random things here and there. Maybe someday my college experience will spark some interest in people…besides, I started this blog in the first place to document my time in college, so that’s what I will do.

Try new things and take advantage of opportunities I wouldn’t normally do. This goal obviously isn’t very specific, but it’s clearly centered around breaking outside my comfort zone. I want to try something new this year, and in order to do that, it’s going to require breaking outside of my comfort zone. I also think I’ve missed out on some great opportunities in the past because I’ve been too worried about what other people might think of me. I know I should have grown out of worrying about what people think a long time ago, but I still have some of these inkling thoughts once in awhile. Some of the things I have in mind to reach this goal is to do something like go on a Buck-I-Serve trip in May (one of the service trips through Ohio State where I would pick my destination in the U.S. and help those in need), even when I might not know anyone else going on the trip. Another idea of how I could accomplish this goal is to join another organization, or even apply for a leadership position in one of the activities I’m already in. Even if I try just one knew thing or take advantage of one opportunity that requires me to break outside my comfort zone, I think it will lead to a great 2015.

I may not be able to control everything that happens for me in 2015, but these four goals I’ve set for myself are things I can control. I have a feeling 2015 is going to be a great year, but instead of just letting the chips fall where they may, I’m going to break outside my comfort zone and make 2015 a great year.

I hope you all have a great start to the New Year & a blessed 2015! Also, good luck to my Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl today!! Go BUCKS!