Opinions, I Got 'Em

Yeah, I have opinions about all sorts of things - books, TV, sports, relationships, pop culture, politics, religion, the environment and many other social issues. Problem is, I don't have time to write a well-researched, well-reasoned, well-written post, which is ideally the kind I would want to write.

A great way to develop my thoughts on a topic is by talking about it with someone. Problem is, I don't really have that someone. I have family, and coworkers, and acquaintances with whom I have one or two things in common, but no real friends. Circumstances are such that I don't really have a social life, which really sucks. I wasn't really sitting around feeling sorry for myself about it until the other day though.

An online community I belong to had Wish List Weekend, where members could post their holiday wish lists. When I finally got around to reading them, I had quite a few stored up. In retrospect, this was not a very good idea, as reading all of them in one sitting made for some pretty sad reading. Some of the posts were funny, some were very genuine, some poignant, some downright pathetic.

One of the most unique was from a young woman whose wish was for a friend. My first thought when I read it was "Me too", then some disappointment that I couldn't offer to be her friend in any way other than online. I have been thinking about her post a lot. I think it takes a lot of self-awareness and courage to know what you need and to not be afraid to ask or look for it.

The new year is coming up. While I am not big on resolutions I have been thinking about changes I would like to make, things I would like to take on, etc. and I have a pretty good idea of what those things are. They include the usual, like exercising more, managing my time better, and to continue writing in various forums. They also include two new ones. They are things I know I can and should do. They things that will have nice benefits if I can follow through. They are things that will require me to listen to and accept opinions I may not share.

Wish me luck :-)