Spring 2010 Semester Goals

I'm not making New Year's resolutions per se because 1) it doesn't feel like a new year, just the second half to my sophomore year and 2) I prefer to break up chunks of time into more manageable pieces and make semester goals.

That being said, my Spring 2010 goals:

• Distribute The Undercurrent: In order to promote my values, and to possibly meet more people that share those values, I will be distributing 250 copies of The Undercurrent, an Objectivist college newspaper, on campus. I will drop off stacks of papers at several intellectual "hot spots" and refresh the supply every two weeks. I will also put up flyers advertising the paper and drop a few issues here and there around campus.

• Participate in a dance class: For fun and exercise, I'm continuing to take a dance class, but this time I'll try a different style, either jazz or salsa. I will go to class weekly. And at least once I will make the trek to Nashville and take a hip hop class.

• Audition to be a face character through the Disney College Program: When the time comes, I will attend a presentation for the Disney College Program and if I like the benefits, apply for it. Then I will go to one of the character auditions and try out to be a face character (one who's face you can see). If I do land the job, I'll get to be a character at Walt Disney World (hopefully a pretty pretty princess!) in the fall.

• Successfully get the Hearst anniversary gallery show up: As gallery manager, it's my job to get the 20th Hearst Anniversary show ready to present this semester. This is a huge project that requires fixing all the frames, plastering and painting the gallery, printing photos in the best quality possible, and then eventually hanging the show (a lot harder than it looks). The show opens February 6.

• Devote at least 1 hour a day to studying, homework, reading, etc: I will consciously block off time everyday to focus on being prepared for my classes. I've been severely lacking in being ready for class my whole life. Thus most of my bad grades were from a lack of organization rather than not understanding the material. I will get all my homework done this semester.

• Hone my style: Last semester I dressed much better than freshman year, and I felt great about it. I wore more dresses and kept sweats only in my dorm room. (OK, I wore them publicly like twice. But that's a huge difference from previous years!) It fell off as it got colder, but some Christmas gifts helped build up my cold weather wardrobe. Now I'm working on creating more of a style for myself, something more formal. I feel my best when I'm put together inside and out. And the new style works well for observing in classrooms.

• Go on adventures with Flat Ryan: To help Jenn and her son learn more about geography (and of course for my own childish fun), I'll be taking Flat Ryan to interesting sites in the area and taking photos. Then I'll email photos and a stories about my adventures back to Ryan, who will save them in an album and mark them on a huge map. And while I love helping a kid learn about the world, it's also a good exercise for me to learn more about the area, and to go on photo adventures. Plus, I no longer have an excuse to have a dull weekend.

• Get started on a portrait series: I have a zillion and a half ideas for portrait series. Now that I've got some basic lighting skills down, it's time to actually get shooting. Not sure which one yet, but it will happen this semester. I'm auditing Advanced Studio Lighting, so I'll be learning more and be able to use assignments to get started.

• Apply for the Clemson Capitalism Summer Conference: I can't make it to OCON, but a 5-day capitalism seminar that's all expenses paid is a nice runner-up. "It's like OCON with people your own age," Rory tells me. Plus it allows me to still attend deaf camp. Count me in. Applications due March 10.

• Try fasting: I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I often didn't think about it till I was already halfway through a meal. But I'm going to consciously pick a day and prepare for a 24 hour fast. After a few tries with that, move up to a 36 hour fast. Intermittent fasting helps keep your metabolism on its toes, and combined with my diet and exercise from dancing, should result in some weight loss.

• Choreograph a dance: I LOVE knowing choreography that I can recall and perform. That's my favorite part of dance. Now that I have some class experience under my belt, I want to try my hand at actually creating a choreographed dance. I've created a few small pieces here and there with friends, but I want one that's all mine. By summer I will have an entire piece written and memorized. It will be good to have when Samm starts teaching colorguard again to show to the girls.

• Get the photo business up and running with a website, prices, business cards, and logo: Despite photo not being my major anymore, I still want to do some work on the side. I've gotten a few commissions from friends, but to get anything steady I need a base. So, by spring break I will have at website up complete with several portfolio galleries, blog, contact info and a set system of pricing. By summer I will have a logo ready to print.

• Redesign Ramen & Rand: I'm tired of my blog looking like every other one. So I'll be shooting a header photo, updating my blogroll, including links to my photo website, and changing the color scheme. I'm also going to do a post on the meaning of the name, which I think isn't at all clear.

• Post more substantial writing: I want to add more meat to my blog. To chew on ideas a bit more than I have. Writing more in depth posts will force me to get over hurdles in my writing and to clarify my thoughts. Also it should draw more readers to my site, reinforcing the process to deliver consistent content.

• Submit a post to the Objectivist Roundup every week: A goal to help the previous one. There's a certain standard for posts in the roundup and by keeping a standing order to submit articles weekly, the caliber of my writing should increase. Plus, I get more links and readers.

• Support my winterguard buddies: My sister, my roommate, and several friends are all participating in winterguard this year. To support them, I will go to at least one show per guard. And I will try to go to WGI if I can afford it.

• Produce the band banquet video for North Hardin: This will be my first project combining music, video, and photos. I want to do well not just for the band, but also to use in my portfolio. I want to get into video projects and this is good practice.

• Supplement my diet: I will be vigilant about taking vitamin D, cod liver oil, and fish oil capsules everyday to cover gaps in my diet (you can only do so much in a cafeteria) to improve my overall health.

• Read one book on Objectivism, one on education, one on marketing, and one on ASL: I'm not so worried about quantity of books as I am quality. Besides, I read slow anyways, so set numbers don't usually work for me. But I am pushing myself to read more about my interests. So I will read and study one book for each area. It should result in a better understanding of my values and more blog posts.

• Attend Deaf events as much as possible: Get on the email! That's the trick. Otherwise I forget and all the fun times pass me by. Not being in a sign class make it very easy to lose the language. I'm already forgetting simple signs. I will attend every Deaf event that I can make it to.

• Wake up at a decent hour: I don't have any classes till 11:30, and knowing my lazy self it can become all too easy to slip into a crazy sleep schedule where I'm awake too late and sleeping in till the last minute. During the few rare times I've been up hours before class, I had free time to spend reading, studying, and getting ready for the day. It was great. I will set my alarm for 8 at the latest everyday to not sleep the day away.

And to make sure I stay on track: motivation music.