promises, promises

I have just over four more months left in London, according to my current plan. It’s true, of course, that four months is a long time, especially when you’re thinking within the limits of a two-year visa. My plans may change. Hell, I know they will - they’ll change multiple times, all over the map, from the probable to the impossible and back again. Because the only thing I’m better at than drinking tea is making plans.

But as it stands, I plan out heading out of London sometime in May, after my Dad visits and we go to the Clapton concert. I don’t know where to yet. Somewhere in coastal Wales is a strong contender at the moment, as are Brighton, Liverpool, Northern Ireland, and several different islands. I will probably get a live-in job, so I can save money for travelling. I might not get a live-in job, because I like the separation of space between home and work. I might go somewhere tiny, so I can hear myself think. I might not, because I love cities. I want to go to a writing seminar in Vilnius, Lithuania, if I can afford it. I want to volunteer in a primate reserve in Devon. I want to drink coffee in Paris and Istanbul, mint tea in Marrakesh, and wine in Rome. I want to go home and start back up on my degree. I want, I dream, I might. (This is what I mean about myself and plans)

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, because they don’t work, and I think people approach them the wrong way. I’m not going to stop anything this year. I’m not gonna diet, or cut back on my drinking, or exercise five days a week, or anything like that. Those are all things that if you really wanna do them, you will, new year or not. I do, however, believe in making yourself promises. In working hard to make your life as amazing as possible. So here are some things I’ve promised myself that I will do this year (and if I don’t get them done, then next year!):

-attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
-see Stonehenge, and the White Horse in Wiltshire.
-visit Hay-on-Wye, preferably during their book festival.
-go back to Paris.
-work on my French skills.
-take as many daytrips and mini-vacations as possible.
-keep writing and submitting and working hard at this.
-go to the Summer Literary Seminar in Vilnius.
-spend the night on Cader Idris.
-learn some Welsh and/or Gaelic.
-see the final Harry Potter film (of course). Cry like a baby (inevitably).
-visit Dublin and hopefully the rest of Ireland.
-volunteer at the Monkey Sanctuary.
-try to finish a novel manuscript.
-meet my British family.
-intern at the BBC (if I get accepted).
-go to Amsterdam with my friends like we said we would.
-go back to Cornwall and see a play at the Minack Theatre (also, visit the Eden Project.)
-attend a proper Guy Fawkes Night celebration.
-visit the Shetland Islands.
-spend the night in a proper (preferably haunted) castle.

And that's it, so far. Did you make yourself any promises for this year?