Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

I'm so zen right now. Really the opposite if last night and the night before when I was so anxious, I couldn't sleep. This time of year, I always think a lot about who I've become in the last year and the person I want to be. I have some major changes to make in the next year, but I say that from a hopeful and self-accepting place rather than with a self-critical and negative attitude. In the last few months, I have made a number of decisions that have changed my life drastically. I exited an unhealthy long term relationship with a man and began a relationship I hope will grow stronger as time goes on with a beautiful woman. This change, although simplified here, involved me truly acknowledging my sexuality for the first time. My experience with self acceptance and essentially "coming out" has been, is now, and will continue to be an adventure that is exhilarating and liberating and some moments and terrifying and heartbreaking at others. 

While I plan on writing more about my sexuality in other posts, this post has a different theme, so I'll move on. My point, though I've taken a slight detour, is that I have already begun the process of feeling more comfortable in my skin. I have a number of steps I believe I must take to continue with this process. Here they are, but not before a short disclaimer: (I am a major nerd. I loved school and I miss studying. Because of this, I may write in outline form and/or site sources. Love it or leave it.) 

1. I will start taking better care of my body. This lifestyle change will occur on a number of levels: 

a. External: Aside from my topical prescription skin cream, I will not put anything mass-produced on my skin. Natural soaps and lotions make my skin feel beautiful without irritating it. If I'm able to afford it, I'd also like to begin integrating natural toothpaste and house cleaning products into the group of products I use now and maybe even phase out harsh or toxic products completely if possible. Now, for this planned change, I must give credit where credit is due. My lovely girlfriend, Napps, takes excellent care of her skin and has inspired me to do the same. We share an interest in living wholistically and I look forward to making this particular group of changes alongside her.  

b. Internal: 

i. Eating habits: I have had more than enough of my current eating habits. The bottom line is that I really do know better. That's it. As of next week, I am planning to stop eating meet and cut of a number of high fat dairy products as well. I will still eat fish and maybe even chicken or turkey on occasion, but the food I prepare and eat when I dine out with be meatless the majority of the time. I'd also like to stay away from mass-produced and processed foods in general, especially refined flour and sugar. With all of this said, I'm not planning on completely depriving myself of anything because that never works. I just want to make these changes a little at a time so that eventually I will stop making the poor choices I tend to make now. I'm looking forward to honing my vegetarian cooking skills. ( I will probably blog about food regularly because I LOVE to cook and eat.) 

ii. Exercise: I have a gym membership and I am going to use it 3 times a week at least. My body just feels (and of course looks) better when I work out. I'd like to be in good enough shape to run outside confidently when Spring comes. I have a potential workout partner and I'm hoping it will be a good match. Because of my crazy work schedule, I know I'll be more inclined to go to the gym if there's somebody depending on me to be there. My job often makes me want to hide under a rock and/or go home and collapse onto my couch in a defeated mess, so the extra pressure to be at the gym will be nice.

There's one more change I want to mention now that I'll write about in more detail later. I'm planning to change the way I think about and manage money. I have a lot to learn in this department and know that this will be a huge challenge. 

My hope is that working on all of these changes will help me to put the bigger things (i.e. What should I do with my life?) into perspective. I feel confident that I'll be able to do these things and excited that I'm about to begin.