Reverb10 – Day 1: One word

I have just discovered reverb10. Even though I am a few days too late to start in time with this challenge, I decided I would like to give it a go. I might not be able to keep up with the challenge until the end of the month, since I will be traveling all around in the second half of the month, but the idea of writing on a day to day basis and sorting out what happened the last year sounds very tempting to me.

The first day reads:
December 1 – One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

Start

2010 felt as the start of so many different things to me. Even though my PhD itself started late 2009, it is only in 2010 that I started to understand the real challenge of this project and that I understood that I have to take lead in my own project. I started to be in charge of my project.

Then, during the summer holidays I went to visit the family of my boyfriend. Having met eachothers’ families and roughly decided where we will live after grad school gives me the idea that we really have started a long-term project together.

After these holidays, I started to push myself out of my comfort zone. Challenging myself to exercise more, eat healthier, feel less stressed and overall live a more balanced and healthier life has made me feel less tired than I used to feel. I still have days on which I prefer to stay inside instead of going to the gym and stuff myself with chocolate (today, I admit, was one of those days), but I feel I am doing progress.

For 2011, I hope the word will be “progress”. I hope I can further develop the changes I initiated in my life this year.