Goals

I would like to begin by apologizing to my proud readers who haven't read any new material in two days.  Not my fault, I came  to my computer for the past three nights with excellent thoughts and ideas only to find out that my host site was down.  I'm not going to sit here and bash the sight because that may lead to my banishment.  Instead I will act like a parent to my misbehaving adolescent child and say blogger.com I'm not mad, I'm disappointed.  I see cyber tears coming...wait for it.  Anyway on to more pressing matters.

Summer break is upon me and I have yet to start my manuscript.  I had what I thought was a really good idea that now seems kind of lame.  I still have it in mind but there are a few other directions I see myself taking, specifically in the YA genre.  I have a really great idea for an inspirational YA series following a teenage protagonist as he struggles through high school.  I'm thinkin' one year for every book.  And no people this will not be Diary or a Whimpy Kid esque; I'm thinking strong content with legit moral lessons and not all happy endings.  I'm excited; now I just need to outline it and begin.  Hopefully I'll be able to fulfill my goal of completing a manuscript.  I have four months which should be plenty of time but with working nearly full time, exercising, and the unit plans that I intend on constructing in preparation for student teaching it's going to be tight.  Not much of a break but hey I really want to get this done so I'll find some way to make it happen. 

I've been really thankful lately because a lot of things have been going my way lately.  I'm making new friends and strengthening bonds with old friends.  Lately I've been spending more time with work friends and it's been fun.  I enjoy the chill hangouts at my house that always result in good conversations and relaxation.  I also got a good idea for a future stand up comedy bit.  I need to start putting together that routine as well so I can hit an open mic night sometime soon.  I'm also very excited for the possibilities to come in the fall with student teaching.  Insanity is going well also.  Kicking my butt but I'm sticking with it until the end.  I'm in the middle of the fourth week and it's still so tough.  Shawn T says it's the toughest workout ever put on DVD.  I'll put his claim to the test once I do P90X but I don't doubt Shawn T.  

It was funny, the other day I was explaining my jubilation about life to my mom and she was telling me not to brag and to be humble.  I didn't really think I was bragging, more just reflecting and being thankful for all that had come my way lately.  Then my mom continued to tell me that things aren't absolute and that just because it seems like things are going great nothing's guaranteed.  Although my mom has a point it got me thinking why things have been going so well for me.  I thought about student teaching, working out, and other aspects of my life.  One of the biggest changes in me has been my goal setting and following through on such goals.  Take Insanity for instance; I wanted to get a six pack and reach a fitness level that I had never before reached.  With regards to student teaching I've been working really hard throughout grad school and I've had the goal of getting a job at a great school from the beginning.  The one common element to all of my success has been making goals and following through on them.  This blog is another example of me following through on a goal.  I started out the new year saying I wanted to write something every day.  Sure I haven't posted every day but the only reason I missed posts was because I didn't really have anything to say; nothing wrong with that. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is it's important to have goals and attempt to achieve them.  I read an article not too long ago about George St. Pierre, one of the best mixed martial arts fighters in the world.  He said that he would rather set a goal to high and not achieve it then set a goal to low and achieve it.  I really like his mentality because it forces a person to push themselves to limits that they never thought possible.  For so long I thought that I wanted to blog but I never got on top of it and for so long I thought that I wanted to lose weight and be in great shape.  At that time I never thought I'd be living my life as I do currently but hey if the drive and desire are there you can fulfill you goals.  I must confess (and Sidney will be mad at me for psuedo-apologizing) that I had more interesting things to say but this post was started and then continued after a long phone call so I slightly lost my focus.  Anyway, welcome weekend, or should I say work-weekend.  Hopefully I don't lose my mind between tomorrow and Sunday.