Welcome back! I hope you had a rejuvenating holiday break and that you are looking forward to an exciting J-term.n One of the things I love about this time of year is the snow. Many of us longed for it last winter because it was in short supply. This is why I was delighted to return from being away for the holidays to so much of it. In the past two weeks alone we received more snow than we did all last year. I find that the snow-covered ground offers a sparkling brightness to the darkness of winter.
Nevertheless, the winter season and the New Year also bring the prospect of fresh beginnings, opportunities, and time for reflection that typically prompt us to make new resolutions for things to improve or change.
I’d like to share with you some of my resolutions for 2013.
- Look up at the sky more and take in all that Vermont has to offer.
- Get better at cross-country skiing.
- Spend even more time with students.
- Get regular quality time in with my family, even though they live far away.
- Teach a strong spring psychology course (Approaches to Psychotherapy).
- Don’t take myself so seriously and remember to have fun at work.
- Empower my team and students to create the best student life experience at Middlebury.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise.
- Travel to a completely new and exciting place.
- Get more sleep!
What are your New Year’s resolutions or commitments for 2013? What are you willing to do to follow through on them? What are you willing to do to help someone else follow through on theirs?
Let me know how we can work together to motivate and support each other on sticking to our New Year’s resolutions and commitments for improvement or change.
—Shirley M. Collado