Summertime: A Good Time for Expanding Your Horizons

This summer, I fully intend on expanding my horizons. I've recently had a moment of clarity and its hit me just how much I miss having hobbies. I've restricted myself in many ways over the last several years and have given up many things I used to enjoy. Now, when attempting to revisit a lot of my previous hobbies, I no longer have the skills needed or interest and motivation to pursue them, so now I have realized that I will need to make some changes.

I'm sure this sounds like a bunch of ramble and nonsense, but if you think about it, maybe you, like myself, will come to the realization that as you've gotten older, you've let some of the things you love slip away. If you haven't, then I admire your ability to hold on and fully enjoy life, but I think the majority of people end up focusing too much on what it takes to live, and not enough on what it takes to be happy. I, regretfully, am one of those people and I intend to rectify that. It may be a slow process for a control freak such as myself to learn to let go a little and be more fluid and flexible, but I am going to try my hardest. And maybe, if you are in the same boat, you'll try and do the same. And if you are, I'd love to hear about it. Let's band together to enjoy life more!

The whole point of this is to sort of make a tentative "to do" list for myself for this summer of things I'd like to pursue and enjoy. Living in New York offers a lot of opportunities, and its ridiculous that I have not taken advantage of them.

Without further adieu, here is my list. I hope to accomplish as many of these as possible.

• Spend more time with my husband.
• Spend more time with my friends.
• Take a letterpressing class. (Signed up on last night for a class at The Arm in on Sunday, June 13th
• Sell my unused video camera and use the money to buy a new still camera (I'm thinking of the Olympus Pen) and take more photos, specifically more travel photos.
• On that note, travel more. Even if it's just short day and weekend trips.
• Explore locally. I love Brooklyn and need to experience more of what it has to offer.
• Take a flower class from Little Flower School. As soon as they release their summer schedule, I hope to sign up. I'd really like to take their succulents class.
• Smile more. Simple, I know, but really. Just smile more.
• Take advantage of the fact that I live so close to Coney Island and enjoy what's left of the old skool culture there before Thor Equities destroys it.
• Go to the beach. I don't do that nearly enough.
• Read more books.
• Bake and cook more.
• Attempt to write more, even if its just blogging.
• Rely on digital technology a bit less (ie. spend less time on Facebook and other useless time wasting websites.)

I'll keep an ongoing list, but I think this is a good starting point.

And a photo, completely unrelated to this post, which just makes me happy.

Sweet hubs and I, at Coney Island in Summer of 2005, when we first moved to Brooklyn.