Happy New Year everyone! I know, I know – we are already a few days in but I’m going to be honest folks, the first few days have not been easy on me. As we enter into the third year of a pandemic, it finally hit me – I’m sick as a dog. Not sure if it’s covid as it’s nearly impossible to either find an at-home test to purchase or find an appointment anywhere to be tested. I’ve spent a lot of time on the couch, sneezing and coughing, and watching Encanto…again and again.

Not exactly how I wanted to start this year at all. I look at my goals and wish that I could be starting on these goals. I decided to share my goals for the year so that I could feel less anxious that I haven’t started them and more pumped to get started on them once I feel better. So here they are –

1. Run/Walk 365 Miles and Earn my Fans Run the World Medal

2. Be More Consistent with Taking My Medications, Checking my Blood Sugar Levels and Monitoring My Diabetes

This was also a goal in 2021 as well that I would do really well at and then I would suck at it and then do really well and then fall off. I don’t think I necessarily failed it last year but I definitely wasn’t consistent and I want to change that. My health is incredibly important to me – it’s just been SO difficult to be consistent and find a routine in my health and activity because I don’t have a routine life anymore, but I’m determined that I can do it.

3. Have a Fun and Mostly Stress Free Wedding!

Look, I know that I’m going to stress about my wedding because that’s just the way I am haha. I can’t NOT stress about the big things in my life and this is perhaps the biggest thing in my life. But I just want to focus on the important thing – I get to marry my best friend this year and its going to be amazing. We already have a post-wedding celebration celebration at Club 33 to do, thanks to a dear friend, and I have so many awesome people helping me and supporting me and I know it’s going to be great.

4. Finish and Publish Struck Out

Another 2021 goal that did NOT happen LOL. I know, though, that so many of you have been waiting for over a year now for Sydney and Drew’s story and I want you guys to be able to experience their story. Their story means the absolute world to me and I want it to be perfect, or as close to it as possible and I’m going to do my best this year to make that happen!

5. Read 80 Books

This was the same goal as last year and I nearly reached it! I hit 67 books for the year and honestly I was pretty proud of myself, considering that I hit a slump in the fall that was relentless. I was something like 18 books ahead or something at that point and that lead was annihilated as I just could not pick up a book and finish it. It was just impossible. I’m hoping to actually reach 80 this year. I’m already at 3 for the year – brand new books, too, not rereads – and I’ve got plenty of books piled up. It’s hard to believe that I used to read 150-200 books a year but that was just a totally different life haha

6. Work Out 3-4 Times a Week

I was doing really well with this toward the end of the year until my work schedule got insane with the holidays AND then I got super sick. I love our apartment gym so I’m hoping to get back to it as soon as I’m feeling back to myself. I’m a little sad that it’ll be overloaded with everyone wanting to be healthy after the holidays – I try not to judge but I admit I get irritated haha but I also want to get back to running and I can always run outside. Which leads me to number 7…

7. Start Doing IRL Races Again

I miss doing IRL races. That was a big reason I fell into running so much. I loved the accomplishment of it, the fun of it. I always felt so tired and like, why on earth did I decide to do this, in the moment but there’s just such a wonderful feeling about crossing that finish line and getting your medal and knowing that you DID it. I’m so out of shape and don’t even feel like I can run a race at this point but two years ago, I was gearing up for my first 8 and 10Ks and I want to get back to that Sara, the strong, determined, ambitious, Sara. I miss those medals, man…

8. Do Well in School

I can’t believe that in just a few days, I’ll be returning to school. I’m just…I feel like it’s sort of unreal and that it’s not actually happening. I feel like the old lady in a class of teens, even though it’s going to be online and I probably won’t even notice that part. I’m just so nervous about going back, since it’s been so long, and yeah, I used to be a good student but I don’t know how I’ll be nowadays. It makes me nervous and my only goal is to do the best that I can. I may not be that straight A student that I used to be but I want to work hard and do my best and hope that it all goes okay.

9. Blog More

This is one that was also on my 2021 list and I started off SO well in the first half of the year butttttttttttt then I lost my job and my schedule became unruly so my routine became unpredictable and I fell off the blog consistency. I’m definitely determined to fix that this year. I like blogging. I don’t know that anyone actually reads this blog anymore LOL but I love it and it’s going to be ten years old this year and I don’t think I’ve honestly stuck with anything in my life this long so I’m very very excited to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the blog and I think the best way to celebrate is to, you know, keep blogging.

10. Make Progress on Goals to be Trainer/Lead at Mermaid

I love my job. I get frustrated by certain things and I definitely do not think its perfect by any means but I genuinely love my job and I want to make a career out of it. I’ve wanted that for years but the lack of inclusion at Disney kept me from it for so so long. Now that I’m there and I’m enjoying myself and that I know I’m good at my job, I want to move forward. I know that it takes time but that doesn’t mean its impossible. I would love to become a trainer for future Mermaid cast members and maybe, someday, become a lead as well. We’ll see. It’s going to take time but I want to spend the next handful of months or so working as hard as I can to head in that direction!