Dragon Rising

The year of the Dragon is almost upon us. Even though we celebrated the Julian New Year six days ago, the Chinese New Year doesn’t begin until the 23^rd of this month, so it is still the year of the Rabbit until then. For me, the year of the dragon holds a special significance whereas it was the year in which I was born. This’ll be my second cycle through the Zodiac and in another year I’ll be at the quarter century mark. Not that big of a deal really, but it does represent a good point in time to look back and evaluate one’s life so far.

            When I was still in Jr. High School, I already knew what I wanted to be and what I was going to become. Fast forward ten years and, sadly, I haven’t accomplished anything I dreamed of when I was a kid. I had fully expected that by now I would be a published author. Yet the only thing I’ve ever published outside of cyberspace has been a poem I wrote back in High School. I wanted to see distant lands and learn languages from every corner of the world; but the only place I’ve visited outside the States has been Vancouver, Canada and the only language I’ve been able to pick up has been Spanish; and I’m not even fluent, barely conversant even. 

This was taken a small ways from Vancouver, Canada when
I was walking to the UBC museum of anthropology.

   

Now, I’ve this horrible tendency to blame all of my failures on external factors. But when I really open my eyes, I see that the root of the problem is entirely internal. When I fall, I have a hard time picking myself up and I end up reverting into my own world, cutting off myself from everything else; and I’ve fallen quite a lot since finishing high school. Whether it be school, work, friends, girls, I can’t seem to succeed with any of it. And though I’ve given into despair numerous times, I have to keep trying. As the great Chinese philosopher and religious leader, K’ung Ch’iu- later known as Confucius- said: Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in getting up every time we do.

            This year, it is about high time I pick myself up again, dust off the failures of the past and give it another go. So here is a list of goals I want to achieve before the year of the serpent comes in twelve months time:

      1. Get my EMT.

      2. Begin learning to play the Violin.

      3. Publish two short stories and or a book.

      4. Read through the Standard works.

      5. Overcome social anxiety/ make some friends.

      6. Become at least conversant in Japanese.  

      7. Go to Japan. 

      8. Get back to school in the fall. 

      9. Read fifty books

     10. Have a full journal written

             

           These are just my year round goals. I've also made daily ones and other short term goals to help me reach the above plan. So why publish my list on the web? Mainly because I heard that if you write your goals down and put them up somewhere people can see them that you have a better chance of doing it. So here’s my test on the theory and, throughout the year, I’ll post what I am working on or accomplished.