New Year's Resolutions

I don't really believe in these.  I also don't believe that once the New Year hits, you get to start over.  I do think it is a good time to reflect on your life up to this point and decide where you want it to go.  This is why I don't believe in resolutions.  I'm not going to get my life to where I want it in one year.  I think there are good resolutions out there that you can do in one year.  You can quit smoking, you can find a work out regime and stick to it (If you do it for a few months consistently, it will be a habit), and certainly other things.  These are not my life goals, though.

So, I sat and reflected on my life this year.  I have been so focused on school, which is good, but why?  What do I want to get out of it?  Of course I want a career.  I want to be able to support my family so my husband can find out what he loves to do.  Those are all selfish reasons though.  I feel the need to give back.  I think I should use my degree for something good in this world besides my own personal happiness.

I mean, of course I will do Pro Bono work.  I would love to continue volunteering with VPO court.  I hope to do more volunteer work at the battered women's shelter.  While it is heartbreaking to go there, it is uplifting to know there is a place for women to go who have no one.  My mom's parents both passed away by the time she was 24.  She was a single mom with no parents.  She was lucky enough to be able to support herself.  Not every woman can do that.  Stay at home moms who have never had a job need help to escape bad situations.

I want to do more than volunteer, though.  I want to help change this world.  I want to help put laws into place that shape our country.  I want to do work with the HRC, or make it a law that family judges must have domestic violence training.  I want my degree to mean something other than making money.  So, my resolution will not be for "this year", it's for my life.  I'm  going to start with the (wo)man in the mirror (thank you Michael Jackson!)