I rung in the new year with a purple wig and a 5 a.m. curfew. I danced, I laughed, I kissed a strange boy at midnight and never got his name. I'll be 30 this year, for whatever that's worth, and I guess it's time to get real. I don't have resolutions for 2012; just mantras I'll be singing every day.
be vulnerable.
don't pretend to be aloof. don't pretend not to care. chin up, heart open.
be present.
stop compulsively checking my phone. stop living in the future and the past. stop distracting myself. when I'm reading a book, when I'm eating dinner, when I'm spending time with friends - be just where I am, and no place else.
be quiet.
I've learned how to tell people what I think; now I need to learn how to listen.
be compassionate.
stop being such a harsh judge of the people I love. stop being such a harsh judge of myself. we're all on a journey and what we need most is acceptance and love. plus: sometimes I'm wrong.
be brave.
talk to strangers. ask for what I want. remember that the best things in my life were the reward of the scariest things I've done.
I hope this year is everything you need it to be.