20AnythingYouWant10

2009 proved to be one of the best years of my life. Coming off of 2008 as my worst, I decided that I needed to start making things happen. I had 2 distinct themes for 2009 that would, in a sense, assist with a turning point in my life. I based my themes off of two songs… Jason Mraz’s “Make It Mine”, cause I’m a mega fan, and T.I.’s “Live Your Life”, because I’m clearly a gangsta. Not every word in those songs mirrored what I needed to accomplish… but the titles were right on. I wanted to make “it” mine… “it” being my dream of improv, and clearly stated… I wanted to live my life. So, running with those themes all year, I made my way to NYC, am now enrolled in an improv class, and am, in fact, living.

The theme thing seemed to work well for 2009… so why not continue it for 20-10? This time I only have one song… but I do have two themes.

So again, I go with a Jason Mraz song. This year it’s “Anything You Want”. The words in the title are also in the chorus of the song, which fully states, “Anything you want can be yours at anytime.” Yep. I feel like I live in a place were things can happen if you want them to. Of course, I understand that with this comes non-stop work that I’m completely ready to put effort towards. I already work two jobs, and am signed up at The Upright Citizens Brigade. Though I already have these things on my plate… it’s not enough to accomplish my goals. I have people here telling me that I need to completely submerge myself in improv. Go to shows, good and bad, and take as many classes as I can and that I can afford. So with that… as you know I work at a university. Since I work at the university, I get to take undergraduate courses absolutely free. It was brought to my attention by a co-worker (Thank you Sarah!) that The New School is offering an improv class for this spring semester. So I’ll be enrolling in that, which is a class concentrated on theatre improv as opposed to comedy, staring January 25^th. I’ll give myself time to adjust to going to two classes a week while working 5, sometimes 7, days a week before I start going to as many shows as I can. Baby steps my friends… baby steps.

My second theme, as I said before, isn’t a song… just an idea. Mind, Body, and Soul. I’ve found that since I’ve been here… I have had a craving to exercise all three of those things. I have read about 5 books since moving here. I actually like reading for leisure now… strange, I know. I just feel like, in my old age of 25, that I’ve let my mind stay still for no reason. If I plan on staying sharp… I have to get some gym clothes on that cerebellum and make it sweat. I’m sure I can be doing more in that area… but let me have my books to read first… then I’ll move on to more boggling “mind exercises”. Body… duh. I’ll admit it... I’ve let myself go since being a Cross Country runner. By letting myself go I mean gaining 10 pounds since I graduated college. I’m an exaggerator… deal with it. It’s important that I stay physically fit while working as hard as I intend. The more fit I am, the more energy I’ll have to take on what I need to take on. Last, my soul. I’ve always been a believer but in 2008, my worst year ever (I’m not bitter), I was at a point where all I could do was surrender and let someone else take control of where I was in life. In doing that, I’ve gotten to where I am now while still letting this vehicle of a body be driven by the big guy upstairs. He provides for me directly, and uses the beautiful people in my life to show his grace. I’m also in a good environment here with new friends that, as “workout partners”, will only make my spirituality grow stronger.

My themes- past, present, and those still to come- are specifically tailored around my life and what I want out of it. To all of you I say take 20-10 as what you want it to be. Get a goal, or a theme, or your dream, and stick it all up in your 20-10. Some of my friends’ 20-10s for example are:

20Honest10

20BelieveWithin10

20MakeAChoice10

20GetRight10

20Educa10 (Education… clever play one words CL)

20Perspective10

And yours?