Tag: birthday resolutions

January 9, 2023

The Birthday Resolutions Pick Up Steam

Photo by Alexander Zvir on Pexels.com

In the eleven or twelve years I’ve been making birthday resolutions, my success rate is mixed at actually following through on my goals. Some years, I check off each and every one, accomplishing everything I set out to do. Other years, I make little to no progress.

I think the reason for this has less to do with the resolutions themselves and more to do with me. You see, when I first started documenting my annual ritual of creating resolutions for the coming year on my birthday, I would set out these grand, vague, life-changing milestones to hit—and I’d fall short. It’s not that they were bad goals. I chose them because they seemed out of reach. But I was under the mistaken impression that Future Me would be inspired to try harder and accomplish more, but Future Me saw an insurmountable obstacle and threw in the towel.

It turns out (no surprise) that habits are hard to change, no matter how sincerely you want it. The older I get, the more I understand what works and what doesn’t work for me. I know that I do better with smaller, specific resolutions—especially when they build on something I’m already doing. Maybe it’s cheating, but it’s a lot easier to hit a target if you’re already aiming for it.

That self-awareness is at the heart of what makes a good birthday resolution. Sure, you want to grow, you want to challenge and stretch yourself, but you’ve also got to play to your strengths and not set yourself up for failure.

It’s an approach that’s working for me, helping me make incremental improvements over the course of a year. Of course, that’s isn’t stopping me from making big, vague, no-way-you’ll-finish-this-in-lifetime-let-alone-one-year resolutions like “be the best parent I can be,” but I’m under no illusions that I’ll be checking them off this time next January.

If Past Me was all about resolutions as rockets, then Future Me is about slow and steady progress. Just keep chugging, Future Me. You’ve got this.

With all that preamble aside, here are my birthday resolutions for the year 2023 (my thirty-third trip around the sun):

Finish My Projects

This one carries over from last year, because I will always struggle to prioritize existing creative projects over shiny new ideas. It’s just in my nature to constantly churn out new stories, but this year, I really want to wrap a few things up, including the final two seasons of The Adventures of Captain Radio, revisions on my novel, and editing a collection of sci-fi stories I wrote with my friends back in high school that really deserves to see the light of day.

Get Outside Every Day

If there was a silver lining to the early days of the pandemic, it was my daily walk. It helped me stay grounded when it felt like the world was in chaos. It may be cold or rainy, but a dose of the outdoors, however small, does wonders for my mental health. So, for at least a few minutes every day this year, I want to get outside and get a few lungfuls of fresh air to clear my head.

Experiment Fearlessly

I used to write things because I thought they would have mass appeal. I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer and I desperately wanted to be published. But something clicked into place over the last couple of years. I started writing pieces that were less mainstream and more like the things I wanted to read. And a funny thing happened—those pieces found an audience and I was taken seriously as a storyteller with something to say. In 2023, I hope to continue that evolution; to not worry about what everyone else is writing or what I think would be marketable and to trust my instincts. Here’s to a year of fearless creativity.

New habits and routines aren’t made in a day. These resolutions will take time—if I accomplish them at all. But I can feel the momentum building. It’s gonna be a good year.

—30—

Jonny Eberle is a writer, podcaster, and storyteller. He lives in Tacoma, WA with his family, a dog, and three adorable typewriters. His writing has been published in Creative Colloquy, Grit City Magazine, and All Worlds Wayfarer. You can listen to his audio drama, The Adventures of Captain Radio, and his writing podcast, Dispatches with Jonny Eberle, wherever you enjoy podcasts.

If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to his monthly email newsletter for news, curated reading recommendations, and more. Thanks for reading!
January 15, 2022

The Birthday Resolutions Get Better with Age Like a Fine Wine

What a year, am I right? After the dumpster fire that was 2020, 2021 offered new and unexpected challenges, along with a second helping of pandemic life just to keep things interesting. Personally, this past year was a time of incredible change, for which I’m grateful (ongoing global epidemic notwithstanding).

This year, I became a father, and it’s by far the best thing I’ve ever done. Sure, there are exploding diapers, plenty of screaming, and sleepless nights, but there’s also a little person who smiles when she sees me, grabs my fingers tightly, and calms down at the sound of my voice. This year was one of preparation, getting everything set up, and welcoming a new life into this messy world — and the world is a brighter place for her presence.

This was also a year that took my creative life in unforeseen directions. In November, while getting up every few hours at night with an infant, I decided to do NaNoWriMo, as a way to stay awake and much to my surprise, ended up writing 50,000 words of a novel manuscript in 30 days. I’ve kept the momentum up and now I’ve got a solid 80,000 words of a Las Vegas mobster novel and less than 20,000 words to go before I reach the end. It’s a major accomplishment for me, since I have a hard to time finishing any writing project, to be so close to typing “The End.”

My other major creative pursuit was something completely different: a full-cast audio drama. I started writing The Adventures of Captain Radio in 2020 when I was desperate for some escape from grim reality. In 2021, I got back into the project, and the first half of our six-episode season is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other audio streaming platforms.

And to top it off, I baked some really, really delicious bread this year.

Amazingly, for the second year in a row, I accomplished all of my birthday resolutions. Let’s see if we can keep the winning streak going. Here are my personal and creative resolutions for this coming year:

Be the Best Parent I Can Be

This is a big one. I’m new to this whole parenting thing and want to be a good dad. This means taking the time to be present, leaving work at work, and devoting myself fully to the joy and hardships that come with raising a tiny human. It isn’t easy, but it is rewarding and I’m looking forward to helping my daughter explore the world. I’m thankful I live in one of the few states that offers paid family leave and I’m getting ready to take off two months to spend caring for my daughter when my wife goes back to work.

Finish What I Start

This is a big one. I get excited by new ideas, and I’ve always been more keen to kick off a shiny new thing than to invest the energy to complete an existing project. This year, I’m endeavoring to continue the projects I began last year. That means wrapping up the first draft of my novel and starting revisions, editing and releasing the rest of my podcast, and completing work on the short story collection I began editing in 2020. This year will be a year of getting things done, even if they take a while.

Embrace Change

My life is vastly different than it was just a year ago. I’ve embarked on a new journey as a parent, changed jobs in the middle of a historic pandemic, and had most of my plans for the year upended in some way — but the results have been worth it. Change is inevitable. You can either fight it, getting lost in a cycle of anxiety about what might happen, or embrace it, making space to welcome the unknown. I can’t control what happens, but I can control my response to it. I hope to do this better as I begin this next trip around the sun.

I find the practice of setting birthday resolutions to be helpful. In a decade of doing them, I haven’t always accomplished everything I set out to do or be, but that isn’t the point. The point is to try, to strive for something, to set the mark and see how close I can get. I may stumble on the way, but that’s part of the fun. Here’s to 32.

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. His new fiction podcast, The Adventures of Captain Radio, is now available to stream on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere. His fiction has appeared in Creative Colloquy, Grit City Magazine, and All Worlds Wayfarer. You can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his newsletter for more thoughts and musings.
January 11, 2021

The Birthday Resolutions Achieve Escape Velocity

Against all odds, for the first time since I started making birthday resolutions well over a decade ago, I accomplished all of my goals last year. To be sure, most of them were pretty vague: take better care of my body, write more short fiction, and read to expand my horizons. My thirtieth year of life did not go as planned, but despite the many personal, professional and existential crises that threatened to derail me, I accidentally did everything I set out to do in 2020.

When the pandemic shut everything down, I found solace in my daily walks around the neighborhood. And when Jura, our puppy, came to live with us, those walks became longer and more frequent. At one point in the fall, I was averaging almost four miles a day and feeling better, stronger, more energetic.

After a months-long creative rut (during the aforementioned existential crisis of living through a global pandemic), I started writing. My output this year was more than it has been in years. I published three short stories and one article in various journals and periodicals, which still feels like an incredible feat. I also dove into a long-neglected project of editing a collection of linked short stories I wrote with some friends back in our high school and early college days. In it’s final, printed form, it will be over 500 pages long and will commemorate a wonderfully formative and creative time in our lives.

Finally, I set myself the challenge to read and learn more. Just one week before COVID-19 upended the world, I completed my Strategic Communications and Public Relations certificate. Throughout the year, I read heaps of books — over 4,000 pages worth of fiction and nonfiction. Along the way, I learned a lot from journalists and academics by reading probably hundreds of articles throughout the year touching on subjects as diverse as systemic racism, geopolitics, history, and quantum mechanics. This year, I was reminded of why I love books so much and how much comfort the written world can provide during times of stress and uncertainty — whether it’s through new information or pure escapism.

So, how do I plan to top those birthday resolutions this year? It won’t be easy. But I hope to use the momentum of last year to catapult myself to new heights in the year to come. Because what is the past if not a booster rocket, lifting us into a higher orbit in the future? Here’s what I’m resolving for 2021:

Prioritize Self-Care

This is a tough one for me. Last year was personally difficult. I lost my job, lost out on vacations and events and seeing friends. Even though I’m an extroverted introvert by nature and don’t mind spending time along at home, there were times when I was so worried about the future that I couldn’t imagine a scenario where anything got better, ever. I realized that I wasn’t taking very good care of myself. I may have been attending to my physical needs — sleeping, eating, exercising — but I was neglecting my mental well-being. Things eventually did get better, but I know that I need to do a better job of caring for my whole self, physically, mentally, and emotionally. That will mean knowing when to stop doomscrolling, when I need to talk to my spouse, and setting healthy boundaries for myself. 2020 was a wake-up call I intend to answer.

Follow My Creative Whims

Last year, I wrote a lot and broke out of my shell a bit more as a writer. I started to incorporate more speculative elements in my fiction and people seemed to enjoy that aspect of my work. In the past, I’ve often kept my pieces intended for publication rather grounded, but letting go of reality (or at least, loosening its grip on my creative freedom) allowed me to follow my instincts in exciting and unexpected directions. I also experimented more with stories that comment on timely issues, like the pandemic and climate change. This year, I resolve to trust my writerly intuition; to worry less about what someone else might define as “literary” and worry more about what kinds of narratives make me want to keep reading. If I enjoy writing it, chances are someone will enjoy reading it.

Bake the Perfect Loaf of Bread

A few years ago, probably as a result of binge-watching the Great British Baking Show, I started to learn how to bake bread. I made some progress and had a few good bakes, but this year, I want to take it to the next level. Not to merely bake something adequate, but to create a flavorful, crusty masterpiece to rival the best bread I could buy at my local bakery. I declare this the year of pre-ferments, long rises, kitchen scales, proofing baskets, and steam-filled dutch ovens. This year, I shall bake the perfect loaf of bread. So say we all.

For the first time in a long time, I have no preconceived ideas about what this next year of life will bring me. Last year has taught me that the status quo can change in an instant. The year ahead is filled with challenges I can’t begin to anticipate, but I hope to face each one with courage, determination, and a sense of wonder.

Twelve, eleven, ten, nine.

Ignition sequence start.

Six, five, four, three, two, one, zero.

All engines running.

Liftoff.

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. His newest short story, Firemaker, is now available to read in the current issue of All Worlds Wayfarer. Follow along with updates on how this year’s resolutions are going by following Jonny on Twitter or subscribing to Jonny’s newsletter.
January 12, 2020

The Birthday Resolutions Take Flight

Earlier this week, on the eve of my thirtieth birthday, I was flipping through a stack of old National Geographic magazines, looking for something to symbolize my goals for the new year. A friend was hosting a vision board party at a bar in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. Now, I’m not entirely sure I understand what a vision board is, so I’m sure I was doing it wrong, but as a former elementary school student, I felt pretty confident when I saw the magazines, scissors and glue sticks spread out on the table.

I didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, just words and images that inspired me. I slowly amassed an admirably random pile of clippings. Grabbing a poster board and a glue stick, I realized there was an unintentional, perhaps subconscious, theme in the images I’d chosen. From an advertisement, I’d lifted a man in a jet pack. An article on the redwoods yielded two scientists scaling a monolithic tree too tall to fit on the page. A feature on birds of prey offered up the image of a screaming hawk, its tawny wings spread wide.

Liftoff.

Reaching new heights.

Flight.

For most, if not all, of human history, we’ve yearned to emulate birds and soar among the clouds. However, despite our lofty aspirations, but it wasn’t until one hundred years ago that the Wright Brothers built a flying machine that could actually sustain flight. Reaching a difficult goal takes determination, repeated failure, and time. Orville and Wilbur Wright could never have achieved the world’s first powered flight without their fair share of crash landings. I think life is a lot like that.

Which brings me to my yearly tradition of making birthday resolutions instead of new year’s resolutions. No, I’m not getting my pilot’s license or going skydiving. Last year, I was not able to realize most of my resolutions. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but life took a couple of unexpected turns, as life has a tendency to do. As I set out on this new year, this new decade, and my thirtieth year of life, I’m aware that failure is the best teacher. I’ve learned a lot from what I tried and was unable to accomplish last year, and I have better ideas for how to improve my process in 2020.

This year, for my birthday resolutions, I have my sights set on taking flight — metaphorically, of course — while also taking to heart the lessons of failure. So, without further ado, here’s what I have my sights set on this year:

1. Pursue a Healthy Balance

Last year, I set myself a challenge of running a 5K. It didn’t happen. This year, I’m still focused on taking better care of myself, but I’m not limiting myself to running. I want to go for long walks, hike through the woods, kayak around Puget Sound, break a sweat working on our ongoing remodel and exercise on a regular schedule. If I do some running along the way, that would be excellent. Overall, though, I’m more interested in striking a healthier balance in my life — more physical activity, less laying on the couch — in whatever way works for me.

2. Write and Publish

Three years ago, I declared I would complete a draft of a novel by the time I turned thirty. Well, I’m thirty now and the novel isn’t done; however, I am halfway through and the story is starting to take wing. I didn’t make my arbitrary deadline, but that’s okay. I’m not giving up and will continue to chip away at my manuscript until it’s ready for its debut.

In addition to my novel, I have an itch to write more short fiction, which has taken a back seat recently. I love short stories and flash fiction and I have several ideas burning a hole in my notebook that I can’t wait to get to work on.

Finally, I’m refocusing on getting more of my work published in 2020. I have an opportunity in the next couple of months to submit to a local publication I really admire, and I hope it’s the start of getting more of my words into print (or pixels) for the world to see.

3. Indulge My Curiosity

Last fall, I embarked on a journey I could not have foreseen when I started an online program to earn a certificate in strategic communication and public relations. Going back to school, even in an incredibly limited fashion, reminded me that I don’t miss homework, but I do enjoy learning. The program is short (I’ll be finished in March), but I plan to continue stretching my brain, seeking out books, articles, podcasts, and documentaries to help me widen my worldview and challenge my preconceived ideas. The world is huge and complex and there is so much to know. As I enter my third decade, it’s obvious to me that I’m just scratching the surface.

Will I spread my wings and take flight this year? Only time will tell, and I’ll be sure to share highlights here on the blog. Thanks for reading!

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer, storyteller, and hawk fledgling nesting in Tacoma, WA. You can follow him on Twitter and join the mailing list to get exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox each month.
January 10, 2019

The Birthday Resolutions Achieve Excellence

Back in college, I read a lot of books by dead, old, Greek guys and I was surprised by how much their search for knowledge and meaning struck a chord with me. Aristotle in particular wrote that the highest achievement a human can reach is arête. This word is often translated as “excellence” or “moral virtue,” but my Classical Political Thought professor argued that a better translation was “reaching one’s potential.” To the ancient Greeks, living a life of significance wasn’t about being perfect, but about being the best person that you were capable of being.

As I turn another year older, I’ve found myself thinking about how I am working toward my arête, my greatest potential. With that in mind, I’m channeling Aristotle today as I write my annual list of birthday resolutions. Here we go:

Live in the Balance

This past year has been insane. My wife and I bought a house, remodeled said house while living with my in-laws, traveled to eight states, drove 2,000 miles, and dealt with personal setbacks. 2018 was a year of extremes. My hope for 2019 is to find peace. There will still be projects to do and tumultuous storms to weather — there always are — but I would like to see smoother sailing this year, with fewer unexpected twists along the way. My hope is to take time to enjoy the little things and to make space for much needed rest after a year of constant activity.

Run a 5K (for real)

Last year, I finished a 5K and it felt pretty good. But I ended up walking a fair portion of the course and after the race, I stopped running. Now, months later, I’ve let the endurance I built up slip away. I’m increasingly aware that my physical fitness is well worth the investment of time and sweat. This year, I’d like to recommit to that goal with the intention of running again and this time, running the whole thing from start to finish.

Carve Out Time to Write

Two years ago, I set myself a goal to complete a novel manuscript by the time I turn 30. It’s been a difficult challenge. I spent a year not really knowing what I wanted to write, and last year, personal and professional upheavals made it impossible to create a regular writing routine. I have roughly 75,000 words to write and less than 365 days in which to get those words onto the page. This year, I need to get serious about my writing and carve out dedicated time to get the work done.

Well, there you have it, my three step process for achieving my highest potential in the coming year. What are your resolutions and how do you keep yourself on track? Sound off in the comments!

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. His recent short story, How to Steal Copper Wire, was recently reprinted in Grit City Magazine, Volume Two. You can find him on Twitter or hanging around with literary types in seedy libraries.

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January 9, 2018

The Birthday Resolutions Ride Again

Photo by Feyza Yu0131ldu0131ru0131m on Pexels.com

Resolutions are funny things. Every year, I make myself a series of promises and every year, I break most of those promises. And yet, I keep making resolutions on my birthday, because while I’m not good at fulfilling them, I still find value in the tradition — in aspiring to do better and be better each year.

This year, as I dive headlong into my late-20s, I’m making three resolutions and if I’m lucky, I may even keep them this time. Hope springs eternal.

1. Complete the first draft of my novel

Astute readers of this blog will probably recognize this one. Last year, I laid out an ambitious goal to write a novel by my 30th birthday. In my original plan, I was going to finish the first draft last year and, well, it didn’t quite work out that way. So, this year I’m going to attempt a new first draft, this time based on a different premise that I’ve been cooking up. With my self-imposed deadline looming, I’m giving myself until November to complete the draft (around 100,000 words). This is a monumental undertaking, but I’m excited about this idea and I’m determined to get it finished.

2. Learn to Accept My Limitations

As I get older, I like to think that I also get a little wiser and a little more humble. I used to think that I could do it all. It turns out I don’t have unlimited time, boundless energy and barrels of talent that I used to believe I possessed — and that’s okay. I have obligations that I must keep; relationships that I must nourish. I can’t follow every harebrained idea that pops into my head. This year, I want to continue to learn how to reel myself back in. Limitations are necessary and by respecting my own limits, I’ll have to be more discerning in my endeavors. From now on, I want to devote my resources to doing a few things exceptionally well, rather than taking on multitudes poorly.

3. Enjoy the Process

In writing and in life, I’ve noticed that I have a tendency to either dwell on the past or start imagining the future. I like spending time reflecting and dreaming, but I don’t want to be so distracted from where I am in the present. I’m writing a novel. I’m young and living in a vibrant, interesting city. These are the years to soak in my experiences and savor the details so that I can draw on them later. I cannot write about fictional lives without living my own life. I want to remember that this year and enjoy the process of accumulating stories.

What are your resolutions for this year? Let me know in the comments!

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer in Tacoma, WA. Today is his birthday. His latest short story, The Disappeared, appears in Creative Colloquy Vol. 4, which you can find at King’s Books in Tacoma. Follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his monthly newsletter for exclusive content and recommended reads.
January 9, 2017

Revenge of the Birthday Resolutions

Today is my birthday. And five years ago, it was also a day when I couldn’t think of anything to write about. My blog was just getting off the ground and I knew I needed to write about something to keep myself in the habit and grow my small audience. I was drawing a blank, so I decided to take a risk and talk about something more personal. For years, I’ve been making birthday resolutions instead of New Year’s resolutions and that year, I shared my resolutions with the blogosphere. Five years later, that first blog about how I wanted to grow and change is one of my most viewed posts.

Most of us make resolutions this time of year. We want to lose weight, cut back on the amount of time we spend on Facebook, put more money into our savings, but most of those resolutions are quickly abandoned. It’s hard to change the course of a river once it’s found a course and human beings are no different, in my experience. Perhaps it’s no surprise that 88% of resolutions fail.

Historically, I have struggled to keep my resolutions (except for that one time when I resolved to move across the country — that one worked out), but I’ve found more success when I limit myself to one or two, put them down in writing and hold myself accountable by telling people what I’m trying to accomplish.

So, as I mark another year of wandering around this crazy world, I’m making one resolution. Just one. Possibly the most ambitious pledge to myself that I have ever made and the one that will have the most potential impact on my literary career. In light of that, I have also resolved to give it the time it deserves, by setting myself a three-year deadline.

Okay, enough build-up. Here it is:

I will complete a final draft of a novel by the time I am 30 years old.

I have tip-toed around writing a novel for the better part of a decade and have little to show for it. Half a dozen unfinished (read: barely started) novels are cluttering my hard drive, but I have never devoted the time necessary to seeing any one of them through to a final draft.

Writing a novel is big. Bigger than any writing project I’ve ever embarked upon. But I think that now is the time. I think I’m finally up to the task. I am fortune to have a loving spouse and a supportive web of friends and family to urge me onward. I’ll be documenting the ups and downs of the process from the initial idea to final draft right here — and I’m grateful to have you along for the ride.

The clock is ticking. Wish me luck.

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer and soon-to-be novelist in Tacoma. You can find him on Twitter.

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January 9, 2016

The Root of All Birthday Resolutions

Another year has come and gone, and with it’s time again for my fourth installment of my birthday resolutions blog. Instead of making traditional new year’s resolutions, I like to wait a week for my birthday and I use that first week of January to take a look at my life and decide what I want to do differently in the coming 365 days.

This year, I started by looking at my previous blogs on the subject (Still a Work in Progress, the Best Birthday Resolutions Ever, the Birthday Resolutions Strike Back, and Return of the Birthday Resolutions). The thing that struck me about all of the resolutions that I’ve made before is how I utterly failed to accomplish most of them (with the exception of moving to a new town and getting married: check and check). I think it’s the same for most of us — we set a lofty goal and find we can’t live up to our own expectations.

This year, I’ve decided to take a different direction. Instead of making several resolutions of various habits I’d like to break or form, I’m going to make one. Just one.

This year, I want to focus on getting back to my roots; to the core of who I am and the people, places and activities that make me the person I am. I want to take this year, my twenty-sixth year, and re-center. I’m in a good place to do that — happily married, gainfully employed, settled for the moment — now is as good a time as any to figure myself out and what makes me tick. I’m not sure what it all means yet. And guess that’s exactly the point.

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer and relentless self-examiner. He lives in Tacoma, WA. You can find his ramblings on Twitter. What are your resolutions for this year? Share them in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going.

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February 11, 2015

Harper Lee’s Second Novel Will Change Everything

“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
– Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

Fifty-five years is a long time to wait for a second novel, but more than half a century after her debut, it appears that Harper Lee is publishing a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. Go Set a Watchman is set in the 1950s and follows Scout, now grown, as she returns to the tired old town of Maycomb, Alabama. After mulling the news over for the better part of a week, I still don’t know whether to be excited or nervous.

Most of us grew up reading Harper Lee’s seminal first novel. It is a masterpiece; a cornerstone of American literature. It’s no surprise to me that Harper Lee was unable to follow it up. Lightning rarely strikes twice.

So, I find it strange that this second book (or, more accurately, first book, as it was written before Mockingbird) is coming to light now. Now, I don’t know if Lee is being taken advantage of in her old age. I don’t know if the book will even be any good. But no matter what this new book is or isn’t, its publication will forever change the world of To Kill a Mockingbird that we all know and love. Its very existence will change the way future generations will read about the little girl watching her father defend a black man in the Jim Crow South of the 1930s. It will offer a different lens through which to understand the characters and events of Lee’s first book and that worries me.

At the heart of my concern is a question — at what point does a work of art cease to be the property of its creator? When a book becomes one of the greatest works of literature of an entire century, does the author retain the right to add or take away from it? At what point does it become part of our culture? Something bigger than anyone, even its author? Of course it’s Lee’s legacy, but it also belongs to all of us who have read the book and loved it. At what point should a great monument be left alone to be what it is?

A new book will hit the shelves this summer and it will change something. Wherever you are, stand up. To Kill a Mockingbird is passing.

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer and reader in Tacoma, WA. You can leave your comments below or find him on Twitter.
January 9, 2015

Return of the Birthday Resolutions

Three years ago, I wrote a blog about my personal tradition — instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I wait nine days to reflect and then I make birthday resolutions. I got a lot of great feedback, so I’m doing it again this year. Brace yourselves for the triumphant return of the birthday resolutions!

Seeing as this is my 25th trip around the sun, it also felt like an appropriate time for a quarterlife crisis. You know, the kind of crisis where you realize that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was only 17 years old. To help calm these old, old nerves, this year’s resolutions serve two purposes — to guide this year and to also reflect how far I’ve come as a human being in progress.

Without further ado, my top three resolutions for the year 2015:

1. Get Married

I asked Stephanie to marry me this past summer and our wedding date is fast approaching. As we nail down the details (What kind of cake are we serving? What color ties will the groomsmen wear? What sized dance floor will fit on the pickleball court? What is pickleball???), I resolve to enjoy the process of being engaged. I want to soak in the stress and also the moments where we lay the foundations of the rest of our lives. We have years and years ahead of us to be married; we only get to be engaged once.

2. Build Up Creative Momentum

My life has been radically changed these last six months. With a new job, a new house and a whole new laundry list of things I have to do. Often, that pushes my creative projects off to the side. I don’t want to lose sight of writing, filmmaking and photography. They are part of who I am. After getting my first short story published in 2014, I want to keep up that momentum into this new year. Short stories, novellas, short films, maybe even a novel manuscript. We’ll see where this path takes me.

3. Be the Snail

Everything is happening so fast all around me. It seems like just yesterday I was I writing the first script for Obscure Studios, my film company, but in reality 10 years have gone by. I’m 25 now and it feels like time is moving faster and faster. I don’t want to waste any of that time. I want to savor it — the good times and the bad. I don’t want to live my whole life as a cheetah. I’d prefer to be the snail. I’m in no hurry to get anywhere (but I am going somewhere). My style is slow and steady.

What are your resolutions for the coming year? I’d love to hear them in the comments. Thanks for reading!

— 30 —

Jonny Eberle is a writer and super old person in Tacoma, WA. When he’s not busy balancing his work, home, and creative lives, you can usually find him renting a car or getting cheaper auto insurance. He also likes Twitter.