My anti-resolutions for 2013

Not being one for celebrating New Year's Eve, I don't believe in making New Year's Resolutions much either. My reasoning is thus; if there's something you want to change in your life, giving up smoking for example, or going to the gym more regularly, why wait until New Year to do it? Say you had the idea in October to drink less alcohol, why wait two months before putting it into practice, by which time you will probably have lost all willpower and momentum? Make the changes you want to make when you want to make them.

Despite this, I do believe that New Year is a perfect time to reflect on where you are, and more importantly, where you want to be.Therefore, instead of making New Year's Resolutions, I have a few aims which I want to achieve in 2013:

• My first and foremost priority for 2013 is to GET A JOB. Since graduating six months ago, I've been hopping around between internships and short term jobs, which, although enjoyable, has been unsettling and financially straining. So, I am hoping that 2013 will be the year that I can finally land a journalism/writing job, which will allow me to settle down a bit and focus on other aspects of my life.
• Second on my list is to get a CAR. Obviously this one comes below getting a job on the priorities list as the main thing which prevents me from already owning a car is money, or lack thereof. I'm not aiming for anything flash, just something to get me from A to B without putting me at the  temporal mercy of National Rail, or even worse, the financial mercy of Arriva buses. Frustratingly, I need a job and a steady income before I can get a car, but there are several jobs I have considered applying for but haven't been able to because of my lack of transport. Another Catch 22 situation in which I find myself. 
• In truth, I could write a whole blog post just on my travel plans for 2013. I say plans, at the moment they are dreams, as once again, finances are holding me back, and the only way to solve that one is by getting a job. I digress. My ultimate dream would be to travel to Venice in 2013- it's always been top of my list of dream destinations, and there's no time like the present. Another trip I would love to make this year would be to Disneyland Paris. I am also hoping to organise my next big trip, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in January 2014, so that will require a lot of planning and saving in 2013.
• Back on a professional note for a moment, I would love to get some more of my work published in national print press in 2013. One of my highlights of 2012 was seeing my name printed alongside a double page spread in the national magazine Woman's Weekly, as a result of my placement there in August (see published articles tab). As my first piece of work to be printed in a national publication, it was an exciting time, and I'm hoping there's more to come. I have placements lined up at two more national mainstream magazines in January and March, so I'm hoping these will provide more opportunities to get my work published, or at the very least give me the insight and confidence to pitch my work to magazines and newspapers in the near future.
• It would also be lovely to get experience in other areas. Although features writing is my passion, I have had a few other ideas swirling around my head for a while now, and reading James Corden's autobiography recently has inspired me to get them out on paper and have another go at screenwriting. Watch this space.

I'm hoping that in putting these aims down in writing and out there on ye olde webbe, my motivation will remain with me throughout the year, even if only through fear of being publicly humiliated if I don't achieve these goals.