Weekly Blog Special Update: April 1st

Hello Internet!

I know that I’ve been away for a while and I apologize. I totally dropped the ball and got overwhelmed with so much other stuff that my writing suffered. Please check on my Facebook Page (here) for a complete update on what’s going on. I wanted to start off April strong and get back into the rhythm of things so I’m starting with an update on my New Year’s Resolutions for 2017. If you want to check out the original post about my New Year’s Resolutions, check out the post here. There are also February updates and March updates which you can find under the Weekly Blog tab if you are interested in that! There won’t be any April Fool’s Jokes in my post so you don’t have to worry about that! Ok let’s move on to the update!

First, as you may know already, my number one goal that I wanted to focus on was that I wanted to write more. This led me to creating this website which I have used as a creative writing outlet as well as a weekly blog. I have tried to stay motivated and continue writing, but as you know, I have failed in doing that over the past couple weeks as stress and other responsibilities overwhelmed me. Although the first half of the month was very productive. Altogether at the end of March, we had 55 different pieces published to the website (including this piece). That’s not too bad! Plus I’m determined to make April full of more pieces with a refocus on my creative writing. As I have mentioned before in recent pieces, I have stopped writing political pieces for now to lighten the writing load on me as well as improve the quality of my other pieces. This will result in a net loss of overall pieces compared to other months, but hopefully an increase in quality. My hope is that this refocus will help improve the pieces that are published as well as expand the website. Hopefully we’ll keep on expanding the fan base and the website with the help of all the readers out there! So far I have been blow away by all your support and the constructive criticism I’ve been receiving. Thanks for all the support and I’m sorry for being away!

Second, I am striving to be more positive as well as be a more positive force in the world in 2017. For the most part I think that I’m continuing to achieve this one. I know when times get stressful or when things aren’t going right for you, it’s hard to stay positive, but in these times it is most important we try to focus on the silver lining. Of course I’m human and I make mistakes. Not every day can be a happy one and sometimes I’m swarmed by negative emotions. But for the most part I try to stay positive and find blessings in my life instead of focusing on the bad stuff. I feel like I’m positive about 85% – 90% of the time which I think is a pretty good accomplishment. Now when it comes to being a positive force for others, I think I’m doing a good job, but I’m a biased source. You can decide as a reader if you think I’m doing a good job and if you know me personally, then you may have better insight into that. Again I think I’m doing my best, but that’s something that people on the outside have to decide for themselves.

My third New Year’s Resolution was to be more adventurous which included: A) Go on more adventures, literally and B) Have a more adventurous attitude to life’s changes and any upcoming opportunities I’d normally be too afraid to take advantage of. In regards to the first part about going out and spending more time on adventures, I have kind of regressed since February. It is definitely Spring where I live and we’ve had a lot of stormy weather with heavy rains, strong winds, and tornado warnings. So I haven’t been outside much. I’ve been outside enjoying the rain, but I haven’t gone on any more nature hikes. On a side note: I love rain! The sound of it falling, the smell of it. I just love it. Sorry had to get that out of my system. Next when it comes to seizing opportunities, I’ve actually done really well on this front. I still have the same job, still live with my parents, and I’m still living the single life (so maybe not that well…), but I have also have made progress in the career aspect of my life. As you may know I majored in Political Science and English in college and I’ve been pursuing a career in the public sector (Government). Well recently I’ve had a few job interviews in the Statehouse and I’ve also applied for a Legislative Internship with the Statehouse. I haven’t heard back on either of those opportunities yet, but I’m hoping for good things! If I get either of these things, I’ll be moving into my own place as well as getting a new job. So exciting things on the horizon!

My fourth and final goal was to be healthier in regards to diet and exercise. I’m happy to say that I’ve gone another month with no pop/soda, no caffeinated beverages, and nothing with a ton of added sugar. I only drink water when I’m at work and I drink mostly milk, juice, or water when I’m at home. It’s been over two years since I gave up pop and I don’t regret it at all! Every now and then I have a craving for Coke or Mountain Dew, but for the most part I’m glad I gave up sugary drinks because the health benefits definitely outweigh the taste. Now when it comes to food, I’m doing alright. Somedays I eat healthier than others, but I’m trying to be more conscience about what I eat and I try to add fruits and vegetables to my diet whenever possible. When it comes to exercising, I still haven’t gotten around to getting a gym membership. I really need to put some financial backing behind exercising but I’ve been so busy with so many other things. Basically I have a lot of excuses and just need to push myself into doing it. Buying a gym membership would help with that because I would have a monetary investment instead of me just saying I’m going to do it. Oh well you can’t win all the time, right?

So that’s my update on how my New Year’s Resolutions are going. So far I’m doing alright but I can see where I definitely need to improve. Overall I give March a C/C+ rating. I definitely get an F for writing (Resolution 1) and a C for being healthier (Resolution 4). I think that an ok rating on Resolutions 2 and 3 kind of balance things out. Maybe I’m a fair judge or maybe I’m judging myself to light or too heavy. You can decide for yourself. I have a bar now and I want to exceed the bar when it comes to May’s update! Make sure you follow me on Facebook and Twitter so you can see updates when they happen and stay tuned for a month full of new pieces. Hopefully my report for May 1^st will be more fruitful! Also keep in mind that it’s not too late to go out there and improve yourself. You don’t have to wait till January of 2018, you can make a change right now! Let me know what resolutions you are working on and how they are going or what resolutions you want to start on!

Thanks for checking out this piece and you can check out my other Weekly Blogs here.

-Allen_The_Writer