20sb Blog Swap!

Today's post is guest written -- brought to you by the powers of the 20-something bloggers blog swap, in conjunction with Andy of And Then France Happened.  Don't forget to go say hi when you've enjoyed this post!

Action. What will you do next year that you've been putting off for too long?

Hi! This is Andy or Andrea (as you want) from And Then France Happened. I started this blog a few weeks ago, after moving my posts from one blog to another since 2008 (older posts are not in my blog). I come from a teeny tiny country in Central America (El Salvador), but then I moved to France to make my superior studies (I hate how that sounds, "superior", but that's how they call University in France). It's been a year and a half since I moved, and right now I'm at my aunt's, in Belgium, to spend Christmas vacations!

Without wanting to make a New Years' Resolution List, I know that I would love to change some things in my life. This year has been just great. I started a new chapter of my life, getting rid of former friends who I don't need anymore. I got new friends, a new apartment that I don't share with one of those unnecessary former friends, a new professional path, etc.

Changes are already announcing themselves: when January starts I will be in a whole new apartment, living with 3 other people. So, my first "resolution" would be to decorate my room. This is my 3rd apartment here in France, and yet I think that the only sign that I was living there was my mess. And the picture of my family hung over my desk. So I really need to feel like I am in "my" room in this new apartment.

I would also say that I probably need to take pictures more often. I have a GORGEOUS Canon 20D that I mostly use for taking pictures during parties. It's like I had a high-resolution compact digital camera. I know my pictures aren't that bad, but I also know practice makes the master. I'm not hoping to be a master of photography (because I only plan this to be a hobby), but at least take nice pictures I can afterwards print and frame proudly in my apartment's walls.

Languages are a weak point for me: I LOVE learning new languages and I feel that I have a little talent for it. I can fluently speak and write English and French, and Spanish is my mother language. But I would love to learn Italian and Portuguese. Many will say "what for?, learn Chinese or Japanese", but at the end of the day I'll learn them more for my pleasure than thinking of my CV. So this year, I'll take Italian learning more seriously.

I already lost my "chance" last year when I changed of professional path in my superior education. I can't make a "faux pas" anymore. I have to complete this academic year. I started with the right foot, but I feel I have also been slacking lately. I need to work work work. I need to discipline myself not to procrastinate. I need to learn how not to fall into temptation.

Voilà. Those are the points that I personally think I need to start doing, NOW. I know that if I start putting off some things, I will forget that I actually need to be doing them.

I hope you're all having great Holidays, I wish vacation will come shortly for those who are still working, I will say enjoy the snow if you have some outside (I do) and if not, enjoy the sun (if you have the luck), or in the worst of cases, enjoy the cold without snow (I don't know how you do it).