A New Kind of New Years Resolution

This year I’m going to ace all my classes. I’ll lose twenty pounds. I plan on reading a book a month. I will not gossip as much. These are all admirable resolutions. They are the attempted and failed pledges of New Years past; the oaths I have heard my friends declare and the ones I have broken myself.

Some years I just skip the resolution train altogether because I know a hopeless cause when I see one. But this year I’ve decided to try something different. A new kind of resolution. My television resolutions of 2010.

Now I am plenty aware that the last thing I need in my life is much more television, but hey, we can’t help what we fall in love with right? So, to kick off the new decade, I have decided to set some goals for myself themed around that idiot box that we have come to know and love oh so very much. I figured that putting my resolutions in writing would make it more official and encourage me to follow through a bit more than usual. Follow the jump for the Idiot Box’s Resolutions of 2010.

Last semester I really fell short of supplying this blog with much more than my Campus Times articles. I got caught up with classes and extracurricular activities and spent my free time napping or watching my favorite shows over and over again. This year I want to try to put more time into my writing. Considering that several of my favorite shows are returning to the airwaves this winter (particularly Chuck and Lost) I will have considerably more motivation and incentive to write weekly. Resolution #1: This year I will write more weekly television reviews for the blog.

I have been trying to educate myself with the great television shows of recent years in order to catch up on what I missed out on as a youngster. Despite better intentions, I often get caught up in watching marathons of shows I’ve already seen or guilty pleasures. In 2010 I want to return to “classics” of the decade. “Battlestar Galactica.” “The Sopranos.” “The Wire.” Must watch television that will add to my enjoyment of this entertaining medium. So, Resolution #2: This year I will watch one or more classic-epic television series’.

I’m not sure whether many of you know or not (for those few readers I like to believe that I have), but I recently decided what I want to be when I grow up. Within the past year through school and most self-awareness I have resolved that my dream job would be to become a television screenwriter. This past summer I took a television-writing course online through Gotham Writer’s Workshop and I have not enjoyed writing more than that in a long time. I had never written a script before and I found the process of creating a story and brining the characters to life both challenging and unbelievably fun. Unfortunately upon returning to school, life distracted me and my television writing took a backseat. But this year, I want to give it an equal priority. Therefore I decree, Resolution #3 (yay rhymes): This year I will write and COMPLETE at least one television spec script.

So bring it on 2010. I am ready for whatever you have to throw at me. I think this is gonna be a good one. I can feel it in my bones. One week til the season premiere of “Chuck,” less than a month til “Lost,” two weeks til “24,” and oh so much more. Get psyched. The start of the decade is already off with a bang.

So now it’s your turn, what are your resolutions for 2010 (television or otherwise)?

*The image, by the way, is of the fireworks in London where I am currently vacationing for a class during winter break. The display is on the Thames River at the London Eye.