Week 1: Introduction and my first goal

I've never been much of a New Year's Resolution kinda gal. I think that most successful changes are small ones done persistently, not grandiose life overhauls. We've all seen it: In January, the gym (or, in my case, yoga studio) is packed with new faces. Give it a few weeks, however, and the new faces start to dwindle. That being said, I think that having goals is worthwhile and necessary for growth. I also think that being accountable for them is really helpful in meeting them.

I was initially inspired to create 52 mini-resolutions by my sister. She started weekly goals last year, and I've loved reading about them on her blog. A second inspiration came from a good grad school friend, Anne, who wrote a post about daily action in lieu of resolutions. At first, I just figured that I'd tell someone about each weekly goal and that would keep me accountable. It only occurred to me a few days ago that a great way to make sure my goals had an audience would be to start a blog of my own! So here I am.

There's a little catching up to do, given that it's January 17th and I'm just now writing about my first week's goal. In order to explain Goal #1, I guess I'll need to give you some background.

In November, I graduated from UNC's Master of Public Health Program in Nutrition!

Here are my classmates and I after our ceremony.

(Photo by M)

Also pictured are fellow bloggers Elle, Anne, Amanda, Maria, and Emily!

And here I am with my professor and mentor, Janice.

(Photo by M)

On Janice's recommendation, I had started applying for jobs in August. One week after graduation, I got an offer! I had really enjoyed my interview for this position, it was a job I had always thought I'd want to do for at least a little while to get my career started, and I felt a great connection with my would-be supervisor. After some small deliberations - but mostly just trusting my gut - I accepted the job. The hardest thing about saying yes was the location - Arizona! Having spent the last 9 years in North Carolina, a move to Arizona meant leaving my friends and family there and starting over in a place where I didn't know a soul. It also meant driving across the country with my dog and my friend Elle*, since I couldn't fly with the pup.

This brings me to Resolution #1: PACK. I know, I know - It's sort of lame to set a goal for something that you have to do no matter what, but with everything that was going on, I felt it was fair to start with something easy.

So, did you do it? Yes! I left a lot of my things back in North Carolina, as my current life plan is to move back East in a few years. I was also going to be moving into a furnished house, so I didn't need everything that I own. Nevertheless, I got everything I was bringing with me packed up and loaded onto a Pod and put the rest in storage. I was ready for my big adventure!

*You can read recaps of our trip on Elle's blog, starting with the decision to travel together, and then moving from Day 1 all the way through to our arrival!