Tag: goals

Putting goals in perspective

Life & Adventures, Thoughts

spring

I never did reflect on my fall goals because I was embarrassed that I neglected almost all of them. I set 10 goals in fall and ended up accomplishing about two that season.

You see, I was in my last quarter of classes and ended up focusing on school work more than the lofty goals I wrote before the academic year began. I actually ended up getting the best grades of my whole college career. That might not be saying a lot since I’ve never been an A student, but I was happy about it. I got As in three academic classes and ended up with a B+ in yoga because I skipped one two many classes. Whatever. It’s funny, actually, because I usually include “get all As this quarter” on my goal list and I didn’t until I stopped putting it on a goal list.

Now that it’s spring, I feel okay about reflecting on my long forgotten fall goals.

1. Get another internship
I had a short lived internship at the end of summer, but I wanted another afterward to gain more career experience. I actually need to complete an approved internship for course credit to graduate in spring. Although I applied to some in fall, I didn’t get a response back until winter, when I had much more free time for applications. I began two internships in February in slightly different but related fields. So, I accomplished this goal, but in winter instead of fall. Yay hurray!

2. Read at least three books
Honestly, I can’t even remember reading one book. That makes me a little sad. But, like I said, I was focused on school. I had to read a lot of articles for my Multiracial and Hybrid Identities class. Surprisingly enough, I also had to read and write a lot for Meditation and Yoga, although I put a lot of that off for the end. I had to read, watch videos, take photos and create projects for Photoshop class. My Magazine class involved a fair amount of reading too, if you count copy editing, but there was no required book. So, there you go! I did read.

3. See a fun live TV taping and/or a play
Yeah, this didn’t happen either.

4. Submit articles to magazines and/or websites
Yes, I can say I did this. It might have been winter by then though. I submitted a story about grief during the holidays to HelloGiggles and it was published on Christmas Eve.

5. Redesign this blog
Oh silly me. I underestimated how much time I need to contemplate a big project before making changes. I’ve been working on this lately though.

6. Purchase a car and drive said car
I did go through three lessons with a driving instructor in fall and it did me good. Now my mom feels confident enough to let me drive her car while she sits in the passenger seat. I don’t feel comfortable buying a car when I don’t have income coming in, however.

7. Workout at least three times a week
I sort of did this. My yoga class was sort of like exercise and it was twice a week. So much of that class was meditation that it didn’t feel like a workout, but it did feel healthy. I also walked my dogs a decent amount.

8. Start scrapbooking
This still hasn’t happened.

8. Get better at photography and gain confidence in abilities
I bought myself a camera in late August (I think) and it has made a huge difference in my photography skills. It’s so good to own my own camera. I gained confidence in my abilities in fall and have been loving photography ever since.

9. Run a 5K
Two of my friends and I almost ran a 5K at school. But we didn’t. We got lazy and changed our minds.

10. Work on budgeting money
This didn’t happen either. I tried to bring my lunch more often instead of buying food on campus. At least there’s that.

I love making lists and goals. But sometimes the timing just isn’t right or sometimes I just don’t stick to them and that leaves me feeling guilty.

—

I wonder if I should make any goals for spring or if I should combine my spring and summer goals. I also have a 24 before 24 list going that I want to complete before February 2015. Not to mention I’m graduating in spring and want to secure a job before then. Putting any other sort of to-do list together would feel like too much.

This whole reflection time is reminding me of a line from Beyonce’s “Pretty Hurts” video and song. “My aspiration in life is to be happy.”

I could make lists all day long. But instead I am going to do what makes me happy and in the process I know I will end up accomplishing a lot!

24 before 24

24 Before 24, Series

It’s my birthday on Sunday and I’m turning 23. Woo hoo! Hurray!

Actually, I’m not quite as excited as I used to be about birthdays and that sucks. I used to hear people complain that it’s all down hill after 21 when it comes to birthdays. I used to think, “That’s never going to be something I say.” Maybe I’m just feeling that way because my birthday is the same day as the Superbowl this year and some of my favorite people have plans. Oh well. I’ll get over it.

So, I’ve been seeing these lists of X before X, so I thought I would do my own. I wrote the list in a journal a few days ago and thought I would share it on here.

I need more adventure in my life and perhaps this is one way to add it in. It’s not entirely spontaneous and it is a little forced, but I think I’m okay with that.

1. Try sake. (Did it!)

2. Read 14 books. (Books 1-3 are done.)

3. Have a mentor.

4. Redesign my blog.

5. Go on a double date. (Did it!)

6. Watch all of Titanic.

7. Make something knitted.

8. Do a photo scavenger hunt.

9. Learn how to make latte art.

10. Take a horse back riding lesson.

11. Make apple pie with my mom’s recipe.

12. Organize my room and get rid of stuff.

13. Take a trip with friends. (Possibly a road trip)

14. Dye at least some of my hair a crazy color. (pink or blue, perhaps?)

15. Complete an internship and officially graduate college.

16. Join a professional organization.

17. Correspond with a pen pal.

18. Go past Tijuana in Mexico.

19. Go to a batting cage.

20. Go on a 10 mile hike.

21. Go to a karaoke bar.

22. See a UCB show.

23. Make tamales.

24. Go to Vegas.

I wrote them in a different order, but then had some fun making them into a triangle shape. The order doesn’t matter, really.

These are all things I’ve never done before. Some are easy and odd, while others will be more of a big deal. After I complete something, I’ll be sure to post about it.

My theme for 2014: embrace

Thoughts

I can’t do goals or resolutions or long, long lists. I would just rather not. I like short term lists, but long term goals and resolutions can make me feel bogged down. I’m sure it’s not just me. So, when I heard about the concept of picking one word as a theme for the year and using it to make improvements in life, I found that to be a very cool idea. I first read about it on In Honor Of Design, one of my favorite blogs.

For 2014, I would like to embrace each day and each moment as much as possible. I want to focus and be in the moment. I plan on enjoying the year very much, while accomplishing goals and making some major life changes along the way.

I tend to multi-task way too much. Or sometimes I get focused on one thing and not spend enough time on other projects I have going on. I don’t want to be that girl looking at her phone all the time any more. I want to embrace my family time and friend time. I want be in the present tense and not thinking about the past or future too much either, although that’s not necessarily bad.

I have a lot of big plans for this year. They might all happen, but they might not. Some are more important than others. For instance, I would like to graduate, get a full-time job and get a car. The car might be the least important thing in that short list but it’s hard to say. I want to learn and do so many other things besides that too. I would really like to embrace the opportunity I have in this time of my life to try many things, while also having some direction.

I’ll focus on moving forward, but not being overly critical of myself. I would just like to embrace each day and the stage of my life that I’m in right now.

Here’s to 2014!

To new beginnings

Blogging, Thoughts

Sunset in my neighborhood

It’s been way too long! To be exact, it has been four months and 19 days since my last post. That is just beyond ridiculous for a break in blogging. But, I have decided to revive this same blog with the concept of taking comfort in the little things. So, why the big gap between posts?

It may appear that I just gave up. If that was your guess then give yourself a high-five, you guessed right. The reason I let this blog go back in June is because I had come to think of it as a burden and I wasn’t taking comfort in it. I found it hard to think of story ideas and thought of it more like work or homework than something fun. A blog should be fun, for goodness sake. That was it, I decided. If it’s not fun and I don’t seem good at it, then I will just hold of until the time is right and I have it more planned out.

Around the time I stopped blogging, I got a job at my school doing — guess what — writing for a blog! Yes, I’m living my dream. A few weeks later I got another job on campus basically doing telemarketing, which I stuck with until the beginning of September. That job was not exactly in my dreams, but at least my coworkers were nice. As it was summer and I wasn’t in school, I spent all my free time doing fun stuff and neglecting to blog about it.

Skip ahead to five months later and I am a bit more busy than before. I am still working as a writer/editor for Gas Creative Group at my school where I do blog writing and social media management. (You can read my posts on ASInside and I will post links to some here. The name may be changing soon, but I’ll keep you guys updated on that.) It’s fall quarter of my fourth year in college and more than halfway through the quarter.

As the end of the year approaches I’m thinking more and more about my future career aspirations (as in multiple times a day) including what internships I will do. Just the same, I will find time to blog.

Anyone with a blog could probably attest to the point that a blog takes planning and purpose. It takes some work and although it can be fun, it might not be fun and games all the time. That’s okay. I’m willing to work at it. After all, I have wanted to be a professional writer since I was in second grade. This blog adds to my writing life, so I love it!

Take time to plan: my summer goals

Thoughts

The last day of finals on June 7, I eagerly started writing up a list of things to do this summer. I have done this just about every summer since I was in junior high. It all started one summer when my mom sat my older sister and me down and told us to right down what we wanted to do that summer, so that we wouldn’t be complaining of being bored. I vaguely remember my list from that summer. I was probably about 11 years old. Having a water balloon fight with all the neighborhood kids involved was my top priority. My priorities and goals have certainly changed since then, but my main focus is not altogether that different.

Ever since I was a kid, I have been loved getting people together and having fun. I have also always loved reading and writing from a very young age.  My summer goal list reflects that. It is all about getting people together, having fun and setting aside time to focus on my creative endeavors.  Although I seemingly have all the time in the world without a job, I am trying not to be lazy by setting certain goals and going after what I want. I am trying to get one or do some freelance work and besides that I have projects that I plan to work on. Planning is an integral part of making things happen and getting stuff done, which is why I wrote this summer to do list.

I take comfort in making long to do lists of plans and breaking them down into goals that can be crossed off. That is most likely another things I learned from my mom. She has always been a big fan of writing lists, including chore lists that I dreaded as a kid. I made sure this summer list is not something I will dread, but things that I will love doing and will learn from. It’s not just a summer list of things to do, but also a way of getting started on big goals like learning the art of blogging and teaching myself how to make a multimedia slideshow.

I will be adding to my list, crossing things off as I go and writing about the journey it takes me on through this blog. Check out the list below. I hope it inspires others to make goals of their own, follow big dreams and have little adventures.

 

Almost 100

Life & Adventures, Thoughts

My Grandpa’s 100th birthday is coming up in July. My family is having a party for him. Even though he will probably sleep through most of it, as he usually does at family parties, I know he will still enjoy it.

Last night when thinking about what summer projects I want to do I decided on three that may end up holding the most importance. I want to make a video for the party. It will be a montage of family photos and videos from over the years. I also want to make a video about the party from video and pictures I will shoot the day of the party.

I also want to get my grandpa doing things like he used to. At almost 100 years old he is not able to do much, but I am pretty sure he is still able to do some things that he no longer does. He is no longer able to work on cars, but I think he would be able to make a simple clock if given the materials. So, I want to make clocks with my 99-year-old grandpa. I want to do little projects like this with him because I know they should make him feel useful and happier.

I want to do manly projects with my little cousin too. A Pinterest board called Manly Man DIY gave me some inspiration. My 8-year-old step cousin Jason was begging me the other day to tell his parents I would hang out with him (aka babysit) every day so he won’t have to go to summer school. I did not want to agree to that and his mom told him she already paid for summer school, thankfully. I do want to hang out with the kid though and I think doing craft projects would be so fun. I think he would really benefit from some projects rooted in science. We can make clocks and even do more fun things like the whole soda and mint rocket thing.

This summer is going to be so good. Yeah, I need a job and an internship, but I also have so many other ideas that I can do even if I get both of those things. I want to go into business with my childhood best friend selling clothes and jewelry. I’m making an ambitious list of summer projects that I will definitely have to do. I’m so excited!