Happy New Year!

Wow, I can't believe it's already 2010 -- not just a new year, but also a new decade! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the new millennium. Who knows what joy, hope, creativity and new connections the next ten years will bring?

I celebrate each new year by reviewing what I accomplished in the past year and setting new goals for the upcoming year. I've found that writing down my goals is a rewarding way for me to take steps towards leading my best life and becoming my best self. A helpful way I break things down is to set goals for different aspects of my life: Writing Goals, Write On! For Literacy Goals, and Personal Healthy Life Goals.

Here are a few of my highlights from 2009:

• I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Creative Writing and Entrepreneurship.
• I created a new website for my foundation Write On! For Literacy: www.writeonbooks.org.
• I held the second annual Write On! Summer Writing Camp and had the pleasure of working with 24 amazing young writers.
• My short story "Numb" was published in Monkeybicycle and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for the Dzanc Books "Best of the Web" anthology.
• I became a contributing writer for the websites GradtoGreat.com and TweenParent.com; other new markets I broke into this year include iMediaConnection, ParentingPink.com, Attribute Magazine, and True Love Magazine.
• I became Youth Director of the national organization SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network) -- check out the newly revamped SPAWN website for loads of resources and information on how you can join this wonderful writing community!
  
• I was a guest on more than a dozen radio shows and spoke to nearly two dozen classrooms and community organizations.
• I was fortunate to meet many amazing and supportive friends who greatly enrich my life!
  

And here are some of my goals for 2010:

• Publish the first Write On! Books anthology of work by young writers.
• Build partnerships with other literacy and youth organizations.
• Expand and improve the Write On! website. (Any suggestions? Let me know!)
• Complete my second novel manuscript.
• Enroll in an MFA program.
  
• Exercise three days a week.
• Learn to play the guitar.
• Do at least one act of kindness every day.
  

What are some of your goals? In what ways do you wish to improve your life or better yourself? What incredible things does 2010 hold for you?