It's here, it's here, it's here!

On my 25th birthday, I was making responsible resolutions. I was at my quarter-century mark and hoping for the best. I was hoping to fight the quarter-life crisis and form myself into the most well-rounded person I could be. I aimed for contentment with my situation--making the best of the life I had. This is not that year. I remember how bleak I felt; how I was questioning everything around me--my relationship, my job, my whole life situation. This is not that year!

Of course, there will always be questions and uncertainties, but for me, 2010 is like one giant open window. This is a new decade and I'm finally done with 25! I'm so excited about the future.

Mary Oliver, who I'm pretty sure is a kindred spirit, wrote a few things that have become my theme for life, especially in this new year.

From "Starlings in Winter" (visit The Writer's Almanac or Concrete Cowgirl for the entire poem):
"I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground,
I feel my heart
pumping hard, I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings."

And from "A Pretty Song":
"And I say to my fingers, type me a pretty song.
And I say to my heart: rave on."

So that's my goal for the year...to be like a starling in winter and to say to my heart, "rave on."