14 things I want to be or do or encourage this year*:
decisive. less agonizing and drafting, more pitching and shipping.
not always subtle. My New Years Eve included very red lipstick and very good friends and two helpings of very salty, very tender brisket. More “very,” please.
confetti. celebrating my people and their joys and successes.
humility. owning and learning from mistakes.
real. explicitly anti-racist, anti-oppression, and committed to progress, even and especially when it’s hard. honest when I’m feeling blue, frustrated, jealous, jaded.
unplugged when possible. quiet. calm.
clean.
playful and creative and adventurous. Exploratory.
open, open, open.
laughter: kites, games, jokes.
Chicago focused. Root planting and community building and hospitality.
partnership. Cozy protective togetherness listening compromising giving taking hearing.
solitude. I just read this Rilke quote: “I hold this to be the highest task of a bond between two people: that each should stand guard over the solitude of the other.”
healthy. Therapy, dance and yoga and push-ups, time outside, heartfelt cooking, thank you notes. Sleep.
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*I know. Baby steps and habits are more worthwhile than sweeping, vague resolutions. (Last night someone told me about a bar named Resolution that’s a gym for the month of January and a bar the rest of the year.) And January 1 is arbitrary to begin with. So if you have ideas, tools, or suggestions for implementing any of the above, bring ’em – any time of year, any year of life.
What are you hoping and planning for these days? If you’re a New Years marker, what’s your word for the coming year?
juliacsmith 
Remembering that nothing about me (or you) needs to be fixed, and there is still much to explore, expand upon, act on and transform. And to be courageous in that.
And thank you for this, and good morning!
I am such a New Year’s junkie. Not necessarily the party/hangover part, but definitely the reflection/planning part.
I feel like my themes for the year tend to emerge on their own near the end of the previous year. Taking an online course on how to use Adobe Illustrator, and playing keys in a one-day band via Ladies Rock Camp set the stage for 2014, which I hope will be full of “design” and “performance.” The first one thrills me because I can’t count how many times I’ve written myself off as “not artistic,” and the second one terrifies me in the kind of way where you just know you have to pursue it.
I love all of your themes, and am personally inspired and motivated by the idea of being not always subtle. Also love picturing you being quiet, calm, and creative in your lovely Chicago apartment.
Thanks also for the Rilke quote.
Thanks, Hannah and Cathy (AKA Mom). Hannah, I love your themes – and I’ve always thought of you as an artist of being alive.
I have a few links to add to this already:
–> http://youngist.org/post/71231465066/challenging-racism-and-the-problem-with-white-allies made –> made me rethink how I phrased the social justice piece above.
–> The 2014 New Year’s Resolution Challenge: http://everybodysinvited.in/2013/12/16/2014-new-years-resolution-challenge/ –> the folks at Everybody’s Invited want to help YOU achieve your goals.
–> 14 Fucks I Refuse to Give in 2014: https://medium.com/life-tips/494224e0f983