I read an old post the other morning on Facebook that read: "It’s that time of year again, folks. A New Year; a fresh start. Now’s the time we all vow to do a boatload of things most of us will never follow through on come 2014." I thought to myself, God that sounds depressing. Why is it that we always begin to make resolutions only to completely give up on ourselves the next day? It's like a pointless game we play with ourselves. Wouldn't it be so cool if we could accomplish "______" this year? Yes. Yes, it would. But it will never happen. We don't have time. We will just write it on a list for fun and then lose it the next day.

I don't think it's a pointless game, at least not for me. If we all focus on making our list a little more realistic instead of setting ourselves up for failure then we can actually follow through and feel good about it. I made myself a list and I fully intend on completing it all. The last goal on my list is the one I will focus on the most. Finish what I start.

The spring semester of my junior year in college I studied in Florence, Italy. I gained an enormous amount of insight into life because of this experience. I also gained 21.5 pounds but that's neither here nor there. During one of my art history classes our teacher took us on a long walk. She didn't tell us where we were going, she simply told us to follow her and not look back for the entire walk. We walked for 20 minutes on flat ground and then hit some steps. We walked up stairs for what felt like an hour (apparently it was only 20 minutes) and then finally she let us turn around. I am sure some of the other students turned around before we got to the top, but at that point after walking that far and losing feeling in my knees, I figured I'd let myself properly be rewarded at the top. It was worth it. We arrived to a church on top of the last set of stairs and looked back on to the whole city. It quickly became one of my favorite views in the world.

A few weeks later my parents came to visit me in Florence. I could not wait to show them the view. Of course, I felt it necessary to bring them up to the view exactly as I had been brought up. My dad, wisely, said he would take the bus up instead and meet us there. My mom blindly followed me as we began the trek up the stairs.

Walking up stairs for someone at the age of 21 for fifteen straight minutes is not enjoyable. Walking up the stairs for someone who is over the age of 50 for fifteen straight minutes with bad knees is potential torture. She didn't complain though, she simply said "Well, I can't do that ever again" once we reached the top. I brought her into the church at the top and there were men singing hymns inside. It felt like we had stepped back in time. We sat there for a while just listening to them sing. Minus torturing my mother by forcing her to climb up to the view, it was one of the best days of my life.

This past Sunday my friend Liz and I went out to Coral Bay and hiked Ram's Head. The Virgin Islands National Park website describes this trail as follows: "This rocky, exposed trail leads to a unique blue cobble beach and then switchbacks up the hillside to its crest 200 feet above the Caribbean Sea. Magnificent windswept scenery. Danger: watch footing near cliff edge."

It was all those things. I made a mental goal to do more hikes this year. Sundays once consisted of sleeping until 4pm and drowning the dread of the impending Monday at work in burgers and 16 Handles frozen yogurt. As I looked out on the view from the top of Ram's Head, I was already feeling productive. However, as we started our trek back we passed another huge hill. The hill was twice the size of Ram's Head with no distinct trail to the top. Liz decided we would hike this too. At this point in the hike I was pretty out of breath. (I have had a cold for about two weeks now. Totally normal since I just moved to the Land of Summer.) It was the hottest part of the day. I ignored my lack of sunscreen and my flimsy flip flops and decided to follow her up the hill. After stepping on about ten cactus plants in the first five minutes, and pulling thorns out of our feet and arms, you would think one would turn back and attempt this on a day with sneakers and a slightly less blazing sun. We continued anyway. For some reason all I could think about was my mother that day in Florence. How she trustingly followed me knowing there would be something awesome at the end of the relatively painful trek. If she could climb those stairs, I definitely could climb this hill.

So I did. I thought about how I could just tell Liz I'd meet her on the bottom several times, but instead I stayed silent and followed. I finished what I started, and it felt good. The cocktail I had as a reward when we got back to town felt even better.

So whether it's one thing on your list of resolutions this year, or twenty, try to follow through on as many as you possible can. The feeling you get when you accomplish even the smallest of tasks is worth it. A close friend of mine got me a shirt a few months ago that he said reminded him of me. It is a huge white t-shirt with the letters YO on the front in silver and LO on the back. (Like Flat Stanley, I will be bringing this shirt to photograph with me most places I travel to in 2014.) For those of you who still don't know, YOLO is the "You only live once" phrase that I will be embracing this year. Make fun of the acronym as much as you'd like, but I am sticking to it. The shirt is one of my favorite presents I have ever received. Not so much because it is a comfy shirt that screams "Carpe diem" in 2014 slang, but because my friend saw something he knew I would appreciate and he stood in line and bought it for me. On a random day. For no reason except to make me happy.

If you are looking for just one perfect resolution to make this year, that would be a great one. Make one person happy. Write it down on that paper you won't lose and follow through.

And finish what you start. We are not lazy people. We choose to be lazy. Read this quote to yourself every time you are having a pity party for yourself about not having time or being too busy:

“Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”

Tell yourself you can do anything you set your mind to, because you actually can...and go make someone smile today. Send a stupid picture, buy them a funny present, send them a cheerful email or text. You will make their day. Take a hike. Call a relative. It may take a little time and effort but the reward is always worth it. Make 2014 worth it.

View from last Thursday's walk: