Hello, hello!  The new year is almost upon us.  Unlike a lot of people I know, I have to say that 2016 wasn’t a bad year for me.  Personally, it was a quiet and uneventful year.  Yeah, bad and scary things happened in the world, but good things also happened.  For example, Spinraza was approved by the FDA as the first therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (which was one of my diagnoses over the years, but I was assured 7 or 8 years ago that I actually have Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy).  Also, a lot of people were lost this year, including icons like Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, and Carrie Fisher.  But we’ve survived.  We’re still here to make 2017 a better year.  To make ourselves better people.

 If we want the new year to be better, we have to start with ourselves.  Many people make New Year’s Resolutions, which are great if you stick with them, but most of us don’t.  A week into January and that resolution to exercise more flies out the window with that first pulled muscle.  That resolution to be more positive disappears with the jerk who dents your car in the grocery store parking lot and doesn’t bother leaving a note.  It’s hard to change our habits.  And that’s okay.  But if you really want the year to be better, you’re going to have to make an effort.  That’s why I’m making a goal for myself for 2017.

 For 2017, instead of trying to change my habits (which is what resolutions usually entail), I’ve decided to pick one area of my life that I want to advance in and create a high (but reachable) goal for myself.  Right now, I’m mostly concerned about my career, so my goal is to find an agent by the end of 2017.  Hopefully, it won’t take an entire year, but it’s a goal I’m comfortable with.  If I were feeling courageous, I might go so far as to make my goal having my first novel published, but that takes time and requires an agent first (okay, so I don’t technically have to have an agent and I could go the whole self-publishing route for those who want to argue those points, but I don’t feel comfortable with those options for myself, so an agent I shall search for).

So, that’s my one big goal for 2017: find an agent.

I simply feel that if we aim to improve one part of our lives at a time (whether it’s our career, personal relationships, health, or whatever) with a concrete and reachable goal, we’ll have a better chance of achieving it and thus improving our year.  By all means, make some resolutions or extravagant goals.  Aim to change the world if that’s what you’re into, but remember that change starts at home.  By improving yourself, you’re improving the world.  Don’t let anyone tell you different.

 Do you have any resolutions or goals for the coming year?  What area of your life would you most like to advance in during 2017?  Leave a comment here or on my social media pages to share your plans for the year.

See you next year!