Happy New Year everyone! I, for one, was definitely glad to tell 2016 goodbye. I have a post in the works looking back on this past year, but first I wanted to share my 17 Goals for 2017. Instead of making several New Years resolutions this year (my one resolution is to have courage and be kind), I decided to set 17 more achievable goals to be accomplished in 2017.
One: No excess spending in the month of January.
Between all the spending that led up to the holiday season and the amount of gifts I received for Christmas, I feel like I have no reason to buy much in January. Of course, this doesn't include food or birthday gifts for other people...and I might allow myself a cheeky movie ticket or two because I still haven't seen Rogue One or La La Land. I love this goal because it gives me something to focus on in the first month of the year!
Two: Read twenty books.
I track my reading on
Goodreads (friend me!) and every year I set a reading challenge. This past year, I only read sixteen out of my goal of twenty so I definitely want to hit twenty this year. I'm starting by rereading one of my favorites,
Pride and Prejudice.
Three: Turn in my thesis.
This month, I will be writing the majority of my 90-100 page history thesis for my honors program at university. In March, I will give a finished version to my thesis committee and by April the product of three long years of work will be finished. Cue my internal screaming.
Four: Go to the gym.
Embarrassing fact: I didn't set foot in our school's gym the entire fall. And the only time I was in the gym in my neighborhood depot building was when my roommate Brian and I walked in there after getting our mail just so that we could say we'd been in it. One of my goals is simply to go to the actual gym even once this year.
Five: Send someone a card for no reason.
I'm fairly good at remembering to send birthday cards and I sent out a batch of holiday cards every year. But isn't the best mail when you go to your mailbox and find something you didn't expect? Maybe my head was turned by all the She Loves Me and Daddy Long Legs this year, but I want to send someone (or multiple someones!) a card or a letter for absolutely no reason this year.
Six: Reach 300 subscribers on YouTube.
This is the one goal I've set that seems completely unobtainable to me right now. I currently have 135 subscribers for
my channel so this is asking to more than double that number in a year. As daunting as it seems, I would absolutely love to grow my audience.
Seven: Drink at least one water bottle of water a day.
I need to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I'm setting my goal low (one water tumbler a day) but hoping I'll exceed it.
Eight: Learn five dishes that I love to cook.
To be completely honest, I am lost in a kitchen. I typically avoid making dinner for myself because all I know how to make is pasta with sauce from a jar. I'm realizing that in just a few short months, I will be out on my own without a meal plan (HELP!) so I need to learn a solid five simple dishes that I can make for dinner. I would really love to cook myself dinner at least once a week during the spring semester.
Nine: Get a job/internship/fellowship.
As I graduate in May, I have to find some way to support myself after university. I'm currently looking around for jobs, fellowships, and paid internships so if you know of anything in marketing/PR/social media in New York or LA, please do let me know. (I'm particularly looking within the entertainment and theatre industries.)
Ten: Film at least five collaboration videos for my YouTube channel.
I have loved filming videos with my friends
Fletcher and Lexi and I want to do more collabs this year! Of course, I'd love to get some in with my uni friends before I graduate but who knows who I could film with when I move to a new city...
Eleven: Create a PR guide for Elon Tonight.
As I'll be passing on the role of Head of PR for the TV show I work for at my university at the end of the spring, I want to make a guide for my successor that explains everything from the social media account passwords to a working list of PR team members to how I've done everything thus far. I think the transition will be much easier if they have a handy Word document they can consult to get things started.
Twelve: Go to an exercise class.
I always talk about how I would love to go to a SoulCycle, barre, or Zumba class and yet I never do. Since I'll hopefully be moving to a big city in the fall where they will have these classes in abundance, I want to commit to going to at least one.
Thirteen: Graduate magna cum laude.
I graduate in late May this year and thus far, I'm on track to graduate magna cum laude (the middle of the honors rankings, dependent on your GPA). I hope to achieve this, as I know that it would make all the family who are traveling to see me get my diploma proud!
Fourteen: Post a blog post once a week for three months straight.
I'm hoping to start this one right away. I'm planning on going back to my normal schedule of two posts a week, plus one YouTube video and a weekly vlog, but I want to see if I can go three months without missing a single week.
Fifteen: Visit a North Carolina historical site I've never been to.
As much as I love touristy historical sites when I'm traveling, it's a shame that I haven't been to more in my own home state. I would love to go to go to Stagville Plantation or Bennett Place, but if anyone has suggestions, let me know!
Sixteen: Work out twice a week for one month.
I know that a total of eight workouts wouldn't seem like a lot to some people, but in all the chaos of this past fall, I haven't worked out once. I'm hoping that achieving this goal would help me set a routine to continue it for many more months.
Seventeen: Try meditating every day for a week.
One of my goals for 2016 was to take better care of my mental health and I want to keep working on this in 2017. I think that I would definitely benefit from meditation so I want to find an app that I like and try doing it every day for a week to see if it works for me.
I can't wait to start checking these goals off my list! What are your New Year Resolutions or goals for 2017? Let me know in the comments below or on
Twitter. x