So we’re five days into the new year, and what have we accomplished? Probably not much, but that’s what resolutions are for right? While I’ve never really been a fan of making resolutions — in my experience I’ve never seem them stick — but what I do like about resolutions is the part where you look ahead to the future, assess when and where change needs to occur, then make a goal to make those changes happen. I think a lot of the time our resolutions, or goals, fail because we never fully commit to them.

My mom taught that when I have what seems like a million deadlines, projects or goals looming, swirling around my brain — more often than not causing me and everyone around me stress — is to write them all down. It’s a simple step, but I have to admit that just by writing a list of my upcoming deadlines or goals, a little bit of stress seems to be lifted from my shoulders. The goals seem more tangible, and easier to wrap my brain around. Plus, when you write down those goals and one is finally accomplished, the satisfaction of crossing it off is sometimes almost as glorious as accomplishing the goal itself.

So for my first column of 2013, I’d like to put in writing a list of things I’d like to see for Selma this coming year. That way if and when any of these “resolutions” do happen, both you and I can cross them off together.

1. Less thugs and drugs. Every day when one of our reporters go to the police department and then to the jail to retrieve the incident and arrest reports, I secretly hope that they will come back with nothing. That the guard will say, no arrests were made and everyone made it through the night in peace. Sadly that has not yet happened, but my hope is that one day in 2013 it will. And I hope we will all do our part to make this happen.

2. More downtown retailers. This past year was a great year for downtown, and I don’t want to see that progress slowing down. I think we need to continue to grow, build and revitalize our downtown shops. Just think about how nice it would be to see all of the empty, unused buildings on Broad Street return to their former glory.

3. More community outreach. Now this may seem like a strange item to land on my list of Selma resolutions, but just bear with me. Selma has so, so much to offer. In the almost five months I’ve lived here, I’ve attended more community activities, art shows, festivals, historical gatherings, and tours, than I could have imagined. These activities are not just for out of town guests or for those new in town, they’re for everyone in Selma to enjoy. I’d like to see Selmians take a more active role in our community in 2013 and try something you may have heard or read about but never experienced.