Resolution

So, why is a resolution called a resolution? Or, perhaps more reasonably, why are resolutions not the same as resolution? This is an important question, and one which I will not attempt to answer, or even think about further. Okay, so that's a lie. I probably will. But we can be almost sure that I will have forgotten about it by the end of this post as I will make no attempt to answer, or even clarify, the question for you, my dear, potential readers*.

The following will be a post in which I will state to you some things which I intend to do, and I hope very much that I actually do them.

THING THE FIRST.

- I will update my blogs more. I have spoken more about this on the Kaffee und Kuchen blog which I keep over on wordpress.com (sorry, blogger). So I'm already doing well with this one!
To be specific, I will try to update this blog every week. Kaffee und Kuchen will undoubtedly be updated less often and less regularly, as it is a writing blog and I do not do much writing anymore. Updates here will not follow any pattern. I guess they never have, so no need for surprise on that count. I will blog about the things I usually blog about: my travels, my studies, the things I've read and the things I've seen. It's called Lily on Life for a reason. The only things I will NOT talk about here are the things I've eaten. There is a dedicated blog about this floating around in the interspace, and while it is as sorely neglected and as sorely in need of updating as any blog of mine you care to mention, I will respect its existence by not even thinking of talking food critique anywhere else.

THING THE SECOND

(I should probably mention here that these THINGS are in no particular order. Now that that is done...)
- I will read more. Reading is a good and laudable activity, and one of my favourite things to do. So, in view of that, I will try to actually do it. A book a week would be the ideal, but I know myself, so I'll make no promises here. Of course, reading more means blogging more because lit corners are my favourite types of blogpost. I have recently picked back up Darkmans, a behemoth of a book which is very post everything. This brings me swiftly to a subthing of Thing Two: I will read the books loved by the people I love. This is not an idea I had all on my own. I would have never thought of such a thing had Johannes Punkt, reviewer of fake books; creator of strange fictions; merchant of words and a general Person de Qualité in a way that the good Abbé Prevost probably never even considered, not come up with it first. Of course, I have read books that my friends have loved before. And I know that they have read books that I have loved, too. But this is because our tastes naturally overlap. Yes, Anna loved American Gods and recommended it to me, but ultimately I read it because I was sure I would enjoy it, too. I read it because I liked it, which is noble and perfectly correct.  But I did not read it because Anna loved it. I read it for myself.

Reading a book that someone else loves, purely for the fact that they love it, is something else entirely. It allows you to become closer to that person in a very small, very strange way. I started reading Darkmans because it was given to me as a present - again, by Anna. It was this that managed to get me almost of a quarter of the way through a book which numbers more than eight hundred pages in total. I picked it back up, because Anna loves this book. I am no longer reading it simply to find the things in it that I can love for myself, although if I find these things, I won't suppress or ignore them. Rather, I am reading to find what Anna might have loved when she first read it. I am reading simply to know that I have done something that she has done, and to enjoy that feeling just as you might enjoy being in a room that someone you loved has spent a lot of time in. I no longer feel a weight on me to enjoy the book as much as or in the same way as Anna has done, which is how I might perhaps feel if this were a simple recommendation. I feel instead that I am putting on a jumper which she has leant to me, despite it being her favourite one. I am feeling honoured that I get to share this book with her.

For the same reason, I intend to pick back up The Magician by Raymond Feist. For the same reason**, I have bought a copy of Sabriel by Garth Nix.

And for the same reason, I hope to finish these books soon.

Moving swiftly on from the depths of my sentiment, which threaten to drown me at any moment, is:

THING THE THIRD

- I will use my languages here, on line, on my blog. I may, every now and again, post something in another language. I may or may not provide translations. Please, do not feel alienated by this. I love languages, but I am not very confident when it comes to producing them. Having my texts out there in all of their gory, grammatically incorrect glory, will hopefully help change this. If you are really offended by posts in different languages, this probably isn't the blog for you, anyway. In addition to posting in the languages I learn, I will also, possibly, post about learning them. The situation is not the same for each language. One I have learnt formally, the rest have been self studied. Some I find easier, some I find much harder. Some I am happier to read in, others to speak in. Some I like more than others... wait. No, I don't... one should not have favourites. Ahem.

THING THE FOURTH before I embarrass myself further and alienate any of my languages

Er, what was the Fourth Thing again? Perhaps there was no Fourth Thing.
In which case:
- I will endeavour to be the best me that I can be, to do all of these things with gusto, because I am sure that I will enjoy them. However, I will also be sure and assured that it is okay for me to make mistakes, that I can skip a week of posting, or that I can post about absolutely nothing if I so wish. I will be sure and assured that this blog is recreational only, and I will not hesitate to run at the first sign of it becoming a chore or a drag. There are times in life when persevering through things you do not enjoy is the right thing to do, things that, really, we ought to continue. This blog is not one of those things. Since my very first post, it has been the place where I come to blather about whatever I like, and I intend to keep it that way. If that means I give it up whenever it becomes too onerous, than so be it. Yes, I may have neglected it for long periods in the past, but I always come back. Because I enjoy writing this blog, and I owe it to myself, as well as to any readers I acquire, to continue writing it as long as I enjoy it.

So, these are the things that I have quietly said to myself I will do, and now I am saying them a little bit louder.

I'll be signing off now, hopefully to see you soon, but before I go I guess I should mention the fact that I GRADUATED.

It has felt long at times, although looking back it feels short, and I haven't always given as much as I should or could have, which I regret. However, I do not regret anything at all from these last two years of study, and I am glad that I have made it this far.

So,
Happy Blogging, y'all!
The ever faithful, in a strange, periodic way,
Little Newman

*You are dear to me, even though you currently exist only in potentia. You will remain dear to me if you shift into real time, but I am afraid to say you will be slightly less shimmery. I am sorry.
** Okay, and because I kind of want to read it anyway, a little bit I guess. And because I saw it for 75p in a charity shop. So sue me.