[2013]

Sometimes in life all you need is a little break from, well, life. And lately that's exactly what I've been taking.

Over the summer and into the fall I worked for a general civil litigation firm. I thought I wanted to pursue that path and become a judge. It turns out that it just wasn't the career path for me.

What I realized is that I don't just want to travel, I need to travel. I need to go. I need to touch, taste, experience as much of this world as I can. And what I was doing just wouldn't give me that option. I thought working somewhere and earning enough money to travel over my vacations would be good enough. But it just wasn't. As Mom says, I'm her little nomad.

What's the point of that little intro?

2013 is going to be a year of change for me.

I won't be in school for any part of it, which is a first for me. I'll be actually embarking on a career like a real adult. Weird, right? I still don't think I'm old enough but hey.

So I have a few resolutions/goals for the new year.

Yes I promise to go back and cover Christmas but being scatterbrained I left the cable to transfer the pictures off my camera in Baltimore. Sadly none of the cables at my parents' house will fit in my camera. I've tried all approximately 300 of them. I would lose my head if it wasn't firmly attached to my body.

My main resolution actually came from a commercial that I heard while baking last week. The commercial prompted viewers to consume less in 2013. While the commercial was talking about consuming less gas by purchasing their high-end hybrid vehicle (I think it was a BMW or Mercedes commercial; I wasn't really paying attention), it struck me as a beautiful  idea for the new year.

I always feel like I need more. Always. But do I really?

So this year I want to try something different. Instead of acquiring things, I want to use that time, energy, and money to acquire experiences. Yoga classes with friends instead of coffee from Starbucks. A day trip instead of a new outfit. Entrance to a half marathon instead of the extra trips to the grocery store every week when I already have plenty of food. Time volunteering instead of time window shopping. I don't want to miss out on something like a friend's wedding or a road trip because I've spent my money on something else to clutter up my closet or pantry.

One component of my goal to consume less actually involves consuming more: instead of consuming so much TV, a dear friend of mine came up with the idea to do a 52 book challenge. Every week we strive to complete a different book. Before law school we were all voracious readers. But then law school stole all of our pleasure reading and replaced it with endless case book reading. So we're getting back to reading for the fun of it. I'll be sharing my reading adventures every Saturday in a series I'm calling "52 in 52"; look for the first post a week from today! I'll share links to other blogs from the community so you can follow our reading adventures as I get them.

So will you join me? Will you consume less with me? Will you read along with me? If not, what do you want to do this new year? I'm eager to hear what y'all have up your sleeves :)