SOCIAL MEDIA

1.11.2017

Reflecting on 2016 + My 2017 Goals

goals
There's nothing quite like a new year and the feeling of a fresh start! To some, January is a bleak month, but for me it is one of the best. I mean, what's not to love about extended winter break, my birthday, and the excuse to celebrate all month?! Like most people, I also like to use the New Year as a time to reset my focus on the things I would like to accomplish and reflect on where life is taking me.

So, before we move on to 2017, let's review the goals I had set for 2016...

Personal:
+ Keep learning about hand lettering I worked on this quite a bit and bonded with one of my classmates over this hobby too!
+ Travel! Perhaps to Utah or Chicago or Las Vegas or maybe something bigger. I'd love to go somewhere for our 5th anniversary!  I went to Chicago and Las Vegas with my dad AND I ended up going to Hawaii with Dai for our 5th anniversary!
+ Stay connected with friends and be a good friend even when things get busy. I feel like I did a pretty good job at this! While some of my blog friendships have sadly fizzled, I think that I did well at investing in my real-life friends and I feel really good about that.
+ Pursue photography as a side business (hey, I have a site now!). I didn't do as much with this as I would have liked and it is something I would like to continue to pursue.
+ Work my hardest in school! I definitely worked my booty off at this goal! The spring semester was pretty stressful, but I did my best and I totally rocked the fall semester!
+ Build my savings and pay off credit cards. The extra income from my summer internship definitely helped with this goal, but I am not totally debt-free yet since my living expenses changed quite a bit after moving into my apartment.
+ Have an internship in my field to gain more experience. I had a summer internship in marketing and while that isn't quite my field, it was a great experience and I feel really great about it!
+ FINALLY make a scrapbook. Um, still working on this!!
+ Keep working on being more responsible with some things.
+ Take time for myself to recharge, work on creative projects, or simply relax (because that's always a good goal!) I did this, but could use more of it for sure ;)

I had also set goals for wellness and blogging, but to be really honest and transparent about it, I didn't really succeed at any of them. If you've been a long-time reader of mine, you'd know that 2016 wasn't my best year for blogging and there were many months that I did not publish a single post. There were simply other things that I focused on last year and sadly blogging just wasn't one of them. Truthfully, I am actually ok with it, but I would like 2017 to be different. As for my wellness goals, I did try new things like dance and going to yoga regularly and I did another round of Whole30. I definitely have more things I would like to work on this year.

My 2017 goals...

Personal:
+ Graduate from college!
+ Photograph a wedding
+ Go to Japan again
+ Read 15 books
+ Minimize belongings and buy/keep only things that bring me joy
+ Have another internship and/or start working a full time job (!!!)
+ Go camping somewhere new
+ Make a better morning routine to start my days off with
+ Visit Big Sur, Texas, and Portland
+ Continue to pursue photography for fun and as income
+ Spend more time with my family
+ Build savings and pay off all credit cards (and maybe even start to pay off student loans?)

Wellness:
+ Find a healthy lifestyle that works for me
+ Implement a good skin care routine
+ Exercise regularly and try fun new things
+ Practice self care by taking time to spend alone, having coffee dates with myself, getting my hair or nails done, reading, walking my dog, etc.

Blogging:
+ Blog consistently and keep it fun
+ Make new friendships with fellow bloggers and connect more with others

I listen to a podcast called The Lady Gang and one thing that is often mentioned is a "mirror message," which is like a mantra or something motivational that you remind yourself of by writing it on your mirror or having it somewhere you can see. I have mirrored closets in my bedroom, so I have decided that each week this year I want to write down a few things to remember and focus on as a way to keep working on my goals consistently and in a manageable way :)

What are your goals for 2017? Did you set goals in 2016?

xoxo
Jess