Slowly Gearing Up

I'm slowly coming down from the holiday feasts and the lethargy associated with this time of year and reminding myself that it's time to decide what it is I really want to accomplish this year. From what I've heard about setting goals, it's important to make them specific and measurable so I'm going to try my best to do that here. When I think about what I want out of this coming year from myself I have two broad things in mind. One is getting into great shape and the other is making a comfortable living with my communications degree (whether that is as a staff writer or through free-lancing).

Fitness: Of course I want to lose weight. I'd be lying to say I just want to start eating healthier and toning up. I have some really cute clothes that I adore too much to throw out and I will be sorely disappointed if I never fit into them again. I'm not talking about size threes from high school or anything, but I have some sevens and nines that I would like to fit into again and I know this is a tough one, but I would like to be able to get into a bathing suit and feel proud of my body again. Specifically, I want to get down to 120lbs and do it by changing my diet and exercise habits. I don't want to crash diet to try to attain this goal (although the first few months may be more extreme than the next) but I would rather change my absorption and exertion habits for the long term. After all, we only get one body and one century (if we're lucky) to live in it. I'd like mine to look and feel amazing.

Career: This part isn't quite as clear to me. If I were in New York City I'd just go apply at a bunch of magazines and book publishing agencies. My preference would be to work in book publishing, but I'd take either or. The reality is that I'm in Florida, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon so I've got to find a way to either free-lance write for publications out of state and work on getting a book published or I've got to find somewhere to work down here within driving distance of my current locale.

I think an important decision for me to make this year is to pick one road or the other for the time being so I can start to build up my portfolio or focus on getting an in house job somewhere. My energy has to go to one side or the other for at least a year.

While I'm really intrigued by the idea of free-lancing it also scares me because it's definitely not as steady as having a regular job so I'm still making up my mind. Anyone out there have any thoughts? Right now my experience consists of free-lancing for two major newspapers in two counties and one semester long internship at a magazine in downtown Tampa. I've never submitted a query to a magazine, but I have had articles published in the magazine where I interned. As of right now I'm still free-lancing for a major newspaper in two counties and I'm working part time in social services.