Y’all. I kept my 2017 New Year’s Resolution! All roads lead to November of 2016. I started thinking long and hard about ways to focus more on improving myself instead of wallowing in self-doubt and shame. I chatted with my dad and he told me simply, “Son, pick up a good book, find a quiet place, enjoy the peace and feed your mind.” As a kid my dad would read… read… read… read… and read some more. He actually still does. I remember having to read books on activities and places prior to actually having to do them. I hated it, but in retrospect, it was a pretty cool segue into so many of the moments we shared. Based on his advice, I decided that I’d read more. Mind you, I haven’t completed a whole book in years, and it was at least undergrad when I would actually read for fun.
Starting on January 1, 2017, I picked up Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. I hated it. While I didn’t think the book was great, I found my brain working in ways it hadn’t in a long time. I was… foggy. As with any other part of the body, the brain needs that challenge. It needs exercise. Not only did I continue to read throughout the year, I read 37 books. I learned so much and challenged so many things I thought were true and learned so much about myself in the process. Take a look at everything I read in 2017. Links are included.
This list is just a list. Nothing more. I prefer non-fiction, and I prefer to read about specific topics. For now this works, but who knows what I’ll delve into for 2018. More than the reading, it proved again that whatever you focus on, you can achieve. That’s definitely something I had to remind myself and I’m so grateful for this experience. Check back next week as I discuss my 2018 New Year’s Resolution(s). More than one!