New Year's Resolutions

So, I've always created a list of resolutions and told myself, day after day, that I would keep them. This year was no different. I laid out a mental list of the things I want to change in my life. I would share them here, but i'm a firm believer that telling someone your resolutions is step one to not completing them! Anyway, this year was no different. For the first few weeks I powered through it and completed daily tasks to build towards the change, but now? Now i'm starting to slack off and drop them once again! This year is going to be different though, and that isn't just a feeling, i'm taking active steps and i've decided to share them with you!

• First, https://habitrpg.com/static/front. I'm really big into rpg games and for anyone else who is this might be perfect for you! It's a website that makes an rpg game out of your life. Habitrpg allows you to set daily tasks that will drain health if not completed, make a to do list with rewards and deadlines, create a list of habits that could have positive or negative effects depending, and have a list of rewards that you can unlock by completing tasks day in and day out in order to keep those New Year's Resolutions in check.

• Second, http://litreactor.com/columns/write-every-day-in-2014-14-steps-for-forming-a-writing-habit. A goal i've had for the last few years is to write a little bit every day, but each year i've failed by getting distracted or just telling myself I didn't have the time. For anyone who has a similar problem, I suggest you read this post! It lists ways that you can stick to writing every day. The best thing? It doesn't have to apply to just writing! It can apply to any new habit you are trying to form, be it exercise, reading, taking the stairs, etc.

• Third, http://karenkavett.com/blog/2037/dont-break-the-chain-calendar-2014.php. These lovely little things, which I first saw on the youtube channel Charlieissocoollike, are amazing! They give you a calendar for the whole year and you can print one for each resolution you have! They even have different colors! You can set the repetition pattern of the habit (i.e. I want to walk my dog every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday). You should definitely check them out!

• Fourth, I'm trying to appreciate the little things. I'm doing this by taking part in the 100 Days of Happiness Facebook status revolution! Basically, every day, for a hundred days, you post about what made you happy that day. Wether you had a crappy day or not, it is your job to pick one thing out at least and post it! I'm not doing to well on the posting them on time part of it, but no matter what it's still making me think about the things that make me smile every day. 

• Finally, I'm making an active change in my way of thinking. Yes, this in itself is something I'll have to work hard to do, but it's time I did. I've spent my whole life a pessimist who was afraid to take chances. This year, that stops. I'm done being afraid to live my own life! I plan on trying new things and living life for the now instead of cowering in a mental corner afraid of what people will think about my past and present and even future actions. 

Here's to an amazing 2014 full of new experiences, new people, and new habits!

Blog #1: My Author Inspiration

"Could I -- could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his

great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very

scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a

wounded dog.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and

burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it -- Lily an' James dead

-- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or

we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly

on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to

the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out

of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to

the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at

the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall

blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.

"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying

here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."

"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his

bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall -- Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself

onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose

into the air and off into the night.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore,

nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.

Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he

stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and

twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet

Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking

around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the

bundle of blankets on the step of number four.

"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish

of his cloak, he was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and

tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect

astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his

blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside

him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was

famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs.

Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk

bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and

pinched by his cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very

moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up

their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter -- the boy

who lived!"

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

   The author who has inspired me the most, throughout my entire writing career, has to be J.K. Rowling. At seven years old, my older sister read the first Harry Potter book aloud to me as we sat in our shared bedroom late at night. I don't know if it was how well she portrayed her world, my sister's passion and connection to the words she was reading, or the atmosphere of reading a book about witches and wizards in a dark room at night when we should have been asleep, but J.K. Rowling captured my mind and hasn't let go since. The first time I sat down at a desk with a red crayon and a piece of printer paper to write a barely legible, thirty word story about a dog eating chips; I sat down with the thought of writing something just like Harry Potter.

   Today, I can re-read the beloved series and acknowledge what about the way J.K. Rowling portrayed Hogwarts really got inside my head and compelled me to write every day for almost 12 years in counting: the world itself. It isn't the way she writes or the story she tells, to me it was the world she created that drew me in. The idea that one could just create their own world and make it feel so real was alien to me, and that's what made it so interesting. I wanted to mimic her. I wanted to write my own story with my own world that would one day capture the hearts of children and parents alike.

   To this day, that is still my inspiration whenever I sit down to write a story or develop an idea. I want to take two sisters, bored with Barbies and matchbox cars and give them a portal into an entire world--and an entire lifetime--of magic. 

As per my assignment (for which this was written), J.K. Rowling uses standard punctuation throughout. 

Here are a few links relating to J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter. 

Pottermore.com: an interactive way to experience Harry Potter. It's technically for children, but if you sign up you can find out your wand and your house!

J.K. Rowling's Official Website

The Harry Potter Wiki Page, a great place to find all things Harry Potter

"15 Years Later" Interview With J.K. Rowling

A Link to My Favorite Harry Potter Character (Excluding the main three)