We can get better because we're not dead yet

Cook 36 “big batch” meals of 3+ servings to keep as leftovers. This is a meal planning method that worked really well for me pre-law school, since it’s easier than cooking every night and helps lower food waste as a single person. But during law school I haven’t been putting as much effort as before, and I’d like to change that.

Abstain from eating meat on 36 different days. Nudging myself to eat less meat overall and go beyond mostly giving up beef. (I find myself craving beef about once a month - yes, if you think you know why you probably do - and listen to my body when that happens, but most of the time I don’t eat beef and don’t miss it.)

Eat breakfast at home on 36 weekdays. I’m not a morning person and eating breakfast before work/class is hard. Sometimes I skip it altogether, which leads to binge eating for lunch/snacks, but more often I end up getting a fast food drive-thru breakfast. No bueno. I need to develop better habits around breakfast and make sure I’m making the time to eat something healthy.

Lose 36 pounds. I recently started Zepbound, which is a GLP similar to Ozempic. I don’t want to put too much emphasis on weight loss, I don’t weigh myself outside of visits with my weight loss doctor, and I want to do this without succumbing to diet culture and unhealthy methods. However, said weight loss doc had a “come to Jesus” talk with me after I gained some weight at my last visit. At my current weight, he’s worried that I’m putting my health at serious risk in the not-too-distant future. So I am trying to focus on it, just in a healthy and sustainable way. (Note that at my current weight, 36 pounds in a year would be a healthy amount to lose at a reasonable pace.)

Eat at 6 different restaurants in Connecticut I haven’t tried before. I have to treat myself once in awhile! I want to shift my food budget away from fast food and DoorDash and try new things. I want eating out to be a fun treat instead of a daily routine.

Completely pay off my Discover balance transfer card. One thing I did during the spring semester, while I wasn’t working and trying to make the finances work, was to transfer some of my current credit card balance to a new card. I have a one-year grace period with no interest on the balance transfer and I’m on track to pay it off in eight months. Holding myself accountable for that.

Lower my Capital One credit card balance to $3,000 or below. This is my main travel rewards card, which I never carried a balance on until law school. Right now it’s a bit north of $5,000, so this is a stretch but a doable one. Having money coming in over the summer and a part-time job in the fall should help.

Complete and pass the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam). This isn’t required for the Connecticut bar (we get to count the legal ethics class as meeting the requirement), but it is for Massachusetts and New York, so I’m planning to take it in case I want to practice in one of those states down the road. Tentatively planning to take it when it’s offered in November.

Submit a note or comment for publication to one of UConn’s law journals. Shamelessly repeating this one since I got really close this past year but it’s not quite ready and I want my goal spreadsheet credit for it, dammit.

Graduate from UConn Law with a 3.600 GPA or higher. Hopefully the “graduate” part won’t be especially difficult, but my current GPA is a 3.583, so I would have to boost it a bit to meet this goal. I think I can do this.

Earn a CALI award in at least one class. Law schools give out CALI awards to students who earn the top one or two grades in a class, at the discretion of the professor. I’ve come close a couple of times, but never gotten one, and I’d really like to! (I know this one isn’t entirely in my control, so I’ll try to be okay with it if it doesn’t happen.)

Land a post-graduation job working in labor and employment law. The raison d’etre for this whole law school adventure. I’m working at Madsen Prestley and Parenteau over the summer and Livingston Adler part-time while I’m in school during the fall and would be thrilled if either of those ended with a full-time offer. Also considering applying for federal government honors programs with the National Labor Relations Board and/or Department of Labor, though given…everything…I’m a bit hesitant about that route.

Plan and book a post-bar exam vacation. Travel’s been on the back burner while I’m in school, but many graduating law students take a vacation after completing the bar exam at the end of July. It won’t be an extended or fancy vacation unless I win the lottery, but I do want to have something to look forward to while I’m studying for the bar and a chance to escape and relax between the bar exam and starting full-time work.

Take 3 day trips to towns I haven’t visited before, spending at least 6 hours in each town. Overnight travel gets expensive and is tougher to plan with a dog, but this should be a fun way to do a little traveling and exploring without taking up too much time or breaking the bank. This might also help with hikes and indie bookstores (and possibly restaurants and museums, though there aren’t that many towns in CT that I haven’t been to before).

Read 6 new books unrelated to law school or the practice of law. Last year, I said “maybe with the clinic instead of doctrinal classes this fall semester I’ll have a little more time to read for pleasure.” I was clearly tempting fate by saying that and I won’t say such nonsense again. But I do want to try again with this goal.

Visit 6 different indie bookstores. Changing this up a little since America’s indie bookstores clearly aren’t going to move Indie Bookstore Day to avoid the time I should be studying for spring finals. (Rude.) Instead, I’ll make more of an effort to visit indie bookstores throughout the year.

Watch 6 documentaries. I’ve been watching YouTube history, current events, and science videos a lot over the past few years and found some really interesting and well-researched ones. (And some poorly researched dreck.) But I’d like to escape the YouTube algorithm now and then and watch professionally made documentaries.

Try 6 different types of group fitness classes. I probably need to work up to this. But the YMCA offers several different types of classes, many of them beginner-friendly, and I want to try different things so that I can find fitness classes at my level that I enjoy doing and will make the effort to go to.

Complete 36 individual workouts. This is the flip side: if I want to sustain a workout for an hourlong class, even a beginner one, I need to be exercising more and building my endurance on my own first. I’m following an “I know it when I see it” definition for this rule rather than trying to set limits on how long/strenuous it has to be.

Complete a day-and-night skincare routine 3 days a week or more for 36 weeks. The past couple months, I’ve revived my skincare routine, which I was good about during the pandemic and then slacked on. For now, I keep it simple - cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen in the morning, cleanser and moisturizer at night (though I’m considering adding a Vitamin C serum). But I want to ensure that simple routine becomes a good habit that sticks as I’m getting older.

Hike on 6 different trails. Loosening the “state park” restriction from last year so I can incorporate some trails like Castle Craig and Quarry Park. This will be a fun fitness and exploring goal all in one.

Go to 6 church services. I want to explore my spirituality and find a church community, which is something I feel has been missing from my life. I was raised Catholic, but I don’t think the Catholic Church is right for me. However, I’m intrigued by the Unitarian Universalist Church in Meriden and have been (gently and lovingly) encouraged by several dear friends who are members of the Episcopal Church (sadly not locally) to try the Church out.

Attend 3 networking events. Blergh. Networking is the worst. But it’s also really important, especially while I’m going to be job hunting.

Attend 6 social events unconnected to law school or networking. This one is a much more fun social goal! I’ve made wonderful friends in law school and I adore them, but I don’t want my social life to disappear when I graduate next May. I want to get in the habit of doing things and meeting people in ways that don’t depend on law school orgs. (Church services don’t count, but if I get involved enough at a church to go to non-service social events organized by the church, those do count.)

Go on 6 dates. I made a bit of an attempt at this over winter break. It didn’t go anywhere long-term, but it turns out that even though the apps can be miserable, meeting people and going on dates can actually be fun. Will wonders never cease! I’d like to do more of this in the coming year. (Note that this specifies dates, not people. 6 dates with one person checks this box should I be so lucky, as does 1 date each with 6 people, or any other combination.)

Host a meal for at least 3 other people. Almost did this this year for St. Patrick’s Day, but it ended up getting sidelined for other plans. I’ve handed over the Thanksgiving reins, but I like hosting people and cooking delicious meals for them. Plus, it’s a good nudge to really get my apartment clean.

Complete 36 hours of pro bono legal service. I don’t want “asylum clinic” levels of commitment again while I have a full course load, but this averages out to about one hour per week during the school year, which feels much easier. Some UConn Law students work with a local domestic violence shelter to assist victims with restraining order applications and I’d like to help with that this year.

Donate, sell, or recycle 36 items of clothing. I’m hoping to be responsible about clothing consumption while I try to lose weight. I thought about setting goals on thrifting new clothing instead of buying new, but that can be really limiting at my size (even though Witch Bitch Thrift is amazing and so size-inclusive). However, I can make sure that as I hopefully shrink, I’m not contributing to waste with my old clothes.

Visit 6 different museums in Connecticut. Visiting museums is one of my favorite things to do when I travel, but it’s not something I do as often in my day-to-day life, especially after leaving DC and its amazing free museums. I want to change that and explore what CT has to offer.

See a play or musical in person. Meriden has a local theater group called Castle Craig Players that puts on shows regularly, and Hartford and New Haven have sizable performing arts centers. Keeping this bite-sized so it’s not too expensive or time-consuming, but I want to try to support the arts!

Send at least 36 holiday cards. The mail is great! I used to do holiday postcards with photos of my dog Molly, but I dropped that habit upon going back to school to save money. But with the money I’m earning this summer and some saving, I can do it again, and I’d like to rekindle the tradition. Plus, it’s a good excuse to take cute holiday-themed photos of Molly.

Visit 3 different spas or float tanks. I’m very fond of float tanks and love Float Forty One, especially since they opened up a location much closer to me in Cromwell. Plus, I often find massages painful due to my sensory issues. However, I really enjoyed going to Immerse HydroSpa for their water circuit treatment and that was a reminder that it’s good to branch out and try different things to relax and have fun. Happy to branch out further this year!

Call or email one of my elected representatives (federal, state, or local) 6 times. Being an engaged citizen is always important. Obviously, with Trump in office, federal issues are on my mind. However, state and local things matter too - I’m very upset that Governor Lamont recently vetoed a bill that would have required CT towns to build more affordable housing, which I’m very upset about. I want to get more involved in advocating for housing, transit, walkability, and urbanism in my new home as well as urge my Senators and Congresswoman to fight back against Trump as much as they can.

Attend 3 in-person protests or other political events. Leaving this a bit flexible since I suspect there’s going to be a lot to protest and I want to be involved in that. Dissent is patriotic, after all. But I also think it would be good for me to look for opportunities to be more involved in local politics (in a small way, definitely not going back to work in it or making it a primary hobby) outside of protests.

Do at least 3 things I previously said I’d never do. I once said I’d never go to law school. I’d never move back to Connecticut. I’d never take weight loss meds again. And I have, in fact, done those things, and they’ve worked out pretty well. I have no idea what this is going to entail yet, but my goal is to be open to new experiences and push myself beyond what I think I can do. I can’t wait to find out what this one will look like.