Another Year, New Goals

Each year I set a number of goals in the same spirit that so many set New Year’s Resolutions. Occasionally, I’m lucky enough fulfill some of these goals after putting in some hard work. 

Goal #1: Complete my PhD in Civil Engineering. It’s been a good ride. In fact, I’ve spent more years at Penn State than any other school (I transferred to Chatham at the end of my freshman year). But now the desire to see what’s outside is growing ever so strongly. I’d like to fully enter the working world or even, heck, try my hand at medicine. But I can’t do any of these things until I wrap up the program that I’m in.

Goal #2: Continue to make better choices about what I eat. Trading a soda for a glass of water or packing a lighter lunch from what I’ve got at home instead of being tempted by the deep fried goodness at the hospital cafeteria. This serves two life-long goals: health and financial stewardship. 

Goal #3: Make plans to get out and see more of the area I live in. It’s difficult to know what the future holds and while we’re happy in West Virginia, life’s a long, strange road. Some folks that I know seem content to write off entire swaths of land or genres of activities if they’ve seen or done something like it once, doing less of that is a good thing for me. 

Goal #4: Learn about ways to improve my financial health long-term. Nearly being out from under the burden of student loans, I can anticipate having an extra few hundred dollars each month in the near future. Sure, that can buy me some clothes or nice dinners, but there are simple, low-risk ways to start putting that money to work. It would be nice to have a down-payment on a new home in the bank or even begin preparing for the time when I’m not going to want to have to work anymore.

Goal #5: Spend more of my time with friends doing things we enjoy. We don’t spend our time like we did in college, we’ve got spouses, kids, jobs, and other obligations that mean fewer opportunities to congregate in one place, in our pajamas, to binge watch Arrested Development. But going out to a nice restaurant, a weekend camping trip, or even taking a pizza over to a friend’s house for an hour or so of fellowship are feasible despite these changes.