#oneword2013

“’Curiouser and curiouser!’ cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English).” ~Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

For the third year in a row, I am choosing to select One Word that will guide my upcoming year. The truth is, I have never been a big resolution person. I don’t really have vices, except Diet Coke, and let’s be real: I am not giving that up. But the One Word resolution revolution has worked for me. For 2011, I chose Next, which was a nice nudge for a year with a lot of intentional, and some unintentional, change. For 2012, I selected Push – appropriate for a year where I pushed myself into a new position and I pushed harder on my dissertation.

In a few weeks, I am scheduled to defend my dissertation. It has taken me much longer than I had planned (due to life happenings that I don’t regret one bit), but it is happening. With a few breaks, I have spent much of my life as a student, and 2013 will be the first year in the rest of my life as a non-student. It is a year where I can have hobbies again; I can read fiction without remorse. I can sit with my kids or take Tae Kwon Do with them. I can repaint rooms or take a cooking class. My husband (who just finished his Ph.D.) and I can go on dates that don’t involve coffee shops and our laptops. I can do any of those things, and I will probably do many of them. However, unlike Push and Next, I wanted a word that allowed me a little more reflection. I want to be OK in the quiet and allow myself time to marvel at things, ideas, anything.

So, for my #oneword2013, I chose: Curious.

I will be entering a new identity once again. I am curious what that new role/identity might look like. I am curious what it will be like to be a mom without being a doc student. I am curious what it will be like to read an article for the sake of the article and its application in my field, not its impact on my research. I am curious what events are happening this weekend in my town that I can support. I am curious what it’s like to complete a whole New York Times crossword in one sitting.

Many things are starting up for us this year, and several things are ending. William Bridges (2004) would tell me that I am in the neutral zone of my transition. As excited as I am about what is around the corner and what I can tackle next, I am going to enjoy not knowing all of the details in 2013. I am going to prove to Albert Einstein that higher education has not killed my curiosity or diminished my interest in learning about other things and people and places.

So, 2013, what will you teach me?

If you are curious about what others have to say about curiosity, please check out my pinterest board.