Welcome, 2017. May you be full of love, laughter and light.

I have a list of things that I want to do this year. It’s not comprehensive. There are doubtless things I’m leaving out. A year is a long time.

But this is what’s on my mind this first day of a new year:

• Write daily.
• Create beautiful things.
• Read more. So much more.
• Be more content with what I have, long less for what I don’t.
• Drink less.
• Give more.
• Cultivate elegance. (By that I mean emote less.)
• Be kinder and more patient, particularly with those I love.
• Stop assuming I know what anyone else is thinking.
• Budget properly and stick to it.
• Keep my apartment cleaner.
• Pay off credit cards.
• Take art classes.
• Make more decisions based on my principles rather than my current mood.
• Dismiss any thought that my life is passing by too quickly.
• Remember it’s almost always about the journey, not the destination.
• Cultivate serenity.
• Delegate more.
• Find ways to positively influence young people (especially those who will be old enough to vote in 2020.)
• Embrace activism that helps mitigate the effects of the political winter to come.
• Sleep more.
• Run a half marathon.
• Redesign my apartment.
• Be more grateful.
• Shine light into the darkness.
• Call my sister.