2020! Hard to believe. Not only has another year passed us by, but a new decade approaches!
100 years ago, women won the right to vote. F. Scott Fitzgerald published his first novel entitled This Side of Paradise. And the first commercially licensed radio station broadcast “breaking news” for the first time as the returns came in for the 1920 presidential election. Later in the decade, flappers became the darlings of the country, the Scopes Monkey trial rocket the nation, and Prohibition caused people to get very creative with how they got their alcohol!
The world is an ever-changing place, as we all have learned! With a new decade coming up, I thought it might be fun to think of some alternatives to “New Year’s resolutions.” Yes, we make them, and often, we break them, because they feel like chores.
Here are some adventures to try out in 2020 that won’t feel like obligations, but will soothe your soul and expand your horizons!
Make a new friend. It’s so hard to make new friends sometimes as we get older. SAIL has so many activities and our membership is growing constantly. So don’t be shy. Come to an event, pull up a chair, and nourish a new friendship. Bring someone into your life with whom you can share adventures and happiness.
Try a reading challenge. The internet is full of reading challenges, which are suggestions for types of books to find and try out, or lists of amazing books you may not have heard of. This page has a list of suggestions, such as “A book with a title that’s less than six letters,” “A book by an author with the same first and last initial,” and “a book with a number in the title,” among many others. They’re pretty random categories, but they could easily lead you to a great book you never would have considered before! Remember, the SAIL book club meets once a month, and the titles selected cover a broad range of genres that might help you check one of your challenges off your list! Find dates and book titles in the SAIL Messenger.
Take a free online course. There are many courses in a variety of subjects that you can take online for free! It’s a nice thing to do on those snowy days when you don’t feel like bundling up to go out somewhere, or if you want to learn from the comfort of your couch! Browse some great sites here. No matter how you do it, learning is FUN, and SAIL has a lot of opportunities to learn new things with classes and seminars. Keep an eye on The Messenger, SAIL’s Facebook page, and the website to learn what’s coming up!
Keep a journal. It can be a hard habit to get into, but a journal can also be a great way to record your thoughts and work out ideas. Need a little help? Here’s a list of guided journals on Amazon.com that prompt you with things to write about. Don’t feel like doing it every day? No big deal! Pick up a pen whenever the mood strikes.
Go to a seminar or class on something completely unknown to you. SAIL has lots of seminars and classes! Go to something that doesn’t immediately interest you or that you know nothing about. You might be surprised! The Isthmus calendar is a great place to keep track of groups, clubs, seminars, classes, and more. Do something totally out of the ordinary and see what you come away with!
There are so many more fun things you can do in 2020 to kick off the decade. Don’t pressure yourself to keep resolutions; rather, do things that make you feel fulfilled and will bring good into your life!
We at SAIL wish you an absolutely incredible 2020! You have made our hearts so full this last year and we can’t wait to keep Sharing Active Independent Lives with you as this new decade begins!
Independence Through Connections. 