Age ain’t nothin’ but a number!

I’ll be a certifiable antique come spring. I’m not saying I’m old, I’m just positive that reality is going to firmly grab me by the cojones in the near future and I’d love to be well prepared to fight it off. I’m never going to truly grow up, for I enjoy life far too much to succumb to aging and maturing, but here are some big boy ideas that will help tame my inner child for the time being:

1. Graduate (some degree of) cum laude

  • I don’t qualify for honors recognition, but should be able to maintain my current 3.6 GPA, or possibly raise it by then, to graduate with similar “honors” recognition. It’s just a number, but I take pride in my work and what I’ve invested in my education.

2. Land a job I truly enjoy

  • What do I want to do? I don’t want to narrow it down, after all I am a prisoner of interest, but I know I’ll find the perfect fit and am excited to see where exactly it will be. I’m definitely optimistic about the opportunities in front of me!

3. Volunteer/donate more than $ often

  • Hopefully with more time and resources I’ll be able to volunteer or donate my services for worthy and charitable causes. I would love to work with kids in a format similar to NFL’s Play60 campaign. I’ve already lived a fortunate life and would love to give back to the world around me.

4. Make good industry connections (network)

  • Wherever I do start working, I hope to make many connections and relationships that will stretch across industries and be reliable throughout my career. I’m not trying to work one job per year, but want my career to introduce me to new people, places and ideas to make my career fulfilling and rewarding.

5. Pay off my credit card

  • Do I really need to explain this one? I just wanna kiss that baby good-bye! It’s served me well and helped me out when I needed it to, but its time has passed and it’s now time for me to start living within my means.

6. Start saving for retirement

  • Now that I’ll actually be making money, seeing that as the reason to have gone to school, I would like to prepare myself to be a grumpy old man with unlimited funds and resources to jet set the globe and spoil my grandchildren while continuing to annoy and embarrass my own kids.

7. Put a big chunk in my student loans

  • Yes, I have time to pay them off, but who wants student loans breathing down their neck forever? I want these babies gone pronto, too! Undoubtedly the best investment I will ever make, now comes the time to start paying for it…

8. Be a better SM/blog resource

  • Having just gotten into the realm of social media and blogging, I’ve become addicted to experimenting and learning about anything and everything I come across. Countless late night and early morning hours will hopefully be replaced with strategic and optimized efforts.

9. Wait on buying a car

  • I’m a guy: I love cars! Already thanked Cadillac for coming out with my graduation present just in time for summer! But did you know most cars depreciate about 25% on average as soon as you drive them off of the lot? I enjoy walking big cities and using public transportation enough to postpone one of the worst investments I could ever make – not to mention related expenses of a vehicle.

10. Start creating a home base

  • Having lived all over the place, and by the place I mean the world, I would love to have a specific location to be able to come back to and call home. I may be from Maine, but having no family or residency there anymore, I would love to create a place to live out of and become a destination for friends and family.

Many of these goals are going to have to start in this new year and will become part of an ongoing process, but starting these huge tasks now and committing myself to them will help me succeed in many areas of life and better prepare me for my future endeavors.

Why am I publicly announcing this? Good question. Accountability? Motivation? For reference? Sure! Whatever it may be, I’m looking forward to capitalizing on 2010′s opportunities and know my hard work will continuously pay off.