Seven resolutions for 2007. I hope this is a lucky year.

1. Limit my spending
I've been very carefree with my wallet lately. If I actually saved my money instead of spending my checks on things that I don't really need, I'd be $5000 richer right about now. That $5000 could go into my down payment for my Scion TC. It could go into my August trip to Australia with Mel and Steph. It could go into my retirement fund. Instead that money can be found in the piles of clothing from The Gap, American Eagle, Express, shoes from Nine West, and ofcourse, MAC products. I need to cool off all this crazy spending and start to budget, especially since the grace period for my student loan is over. So to start the new year off right, I'm not making any unnecessary purchases for myself in the month of January. However, there are a few exceptions to the rule:

• Exchanges for purchases made prior to January do not count.
• I can still buy stuff for other people.
• I'm setting aside $50 for the month as my "weak" stash, to use when there is something really good on sale.
• Books do not count. Ok fine, they count. Damn it.

2. Get to know my family
I'm making my family a priority this year. I've decided to take on the responsibility as the family "life coach." So my first task is to plan a summer camping trip for my entire family. I hope it all works out.

3. Be more patient and keep my temper in check
I think having more patience will result in less anxiety attacks. I tend to do this thing where I totally overact and freak out over a situation that eventually resolves itself on its own. And those situations are usually exacerbated by my temper, where I'm so quick to lash out. So to keep my life stress free, I'm going to be patient. Maybe then, I'll be more like Buddha and will be able to sit under a tree with my legs crossed, awaiting nirvana.

4. Prepare for my future
This year, I will seriously start studying for the GREs. If I want to get into UC Berkeley, my verbal score needs to be exceptional and I have to boost my quantitative score. I'll also have to take the English Literature subject test, so I have to formulate some kind of plan or schedule to read and review major works/periods/theories. I'm planning on taking them Fall of 07 so I can apply for the 2008 school year. And I've decided to focus my studies on 20th century to Contemporary literature, with a special emphasis in feminist theory, race theory, and asian american literature.

5. Devote more time to writing
I've been looking through my blog lately, and I noticed that most of my posts involve writing prompt responses. While I love prompts, I feel as though I need to condition and discipline myself as a writer. I need to set aside at least one to two hours a day just to write, whether it be poetry or fiction. In addition, I also want to be more consistent with my blog entries and try to update every other day. And I don't want to write nonsense either. I really want to get to know myself again, and that means I need to sit down and analyze my life, myself, through memories and through writing. I feel as though my tone and my voice on this blog can be a little more honest, raw, real. I mean, I don't want to write in a depressive way, but I do want to acknowledge my sadness, and my happiness a little more. Reflect on it. Let it linger.

6. Read at least two books a month
I have so many books waiting to be read. On Friday night, I will start Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. I think from now on, I'm going to schedule "reading time" into my life. I used to be such a prolific reader. When I was in elementary/middle/high school, I used to read a book a week over the summer. And if it was really good, I would read a book a day. I remember the summer before my Freshman year of college, I read Practical Magic in one day. I sat on my bed and didn't move until I got to the last page. I need that fervor for reading back in my life. I think I've associated it as a strenuous task, because as an English major, we were always required to think critically after finishing a novel. I mean, I'll probably still think critically, but it's different when you're reading a book out of personal enjoyment, than when you're reading it as part of an assignment - even if it's a good book. Now I can go back and start calling myself a bookworm again.

Some authors/books I'm looking forward to reading:

• James Joyce's Ulysses
• Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (which I read for a senior seminar, but I never finished)
• Ezra Pound's poetry
• Zora Neale Hurston's short stories
• Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short stories and his novel Love in the Time of Cholera (my favorite author after reading One Hundred Years of Solitude)
• more Asian American writing

7. Love myself
I haven't done much of that lately. I think I depend on people to love me, so I've forgotten that it's also my responsibility too. As Meredith has said on Grey's Anatomy, Season Two:

"I think you can't wait for someone to fly underneath you and save your life. I think you have to save yourself."

This resolution involves a variety of tasks.

• Excercise more
• Eat healthier
• Get enough sleep
• Lose 20 pounds, which will hopefully happen because of the aforementioned
• Spend more quality time with myself, not involving sulking or shopping or binge eating
• Strengthening my faith, in God and in myself
• Making sure that I tell myself at the end of each day that I am lucky to still be on my feet
• Start believing people when they tell me I am beautiful, talented, special - there's gotta be truth in the status quo
• Focus more on my strengths, than my weaknesses
• Turn my weaknesses into my strengths

I'm excited. Carpe diem!