To say that 2017 was an adventure would definitely be an understatement. I had ups, I had downs. I barely wrote a thing until the end of the year and I read only 60 books (compared to a few years ago when I read 209!) This past year was all about learning and growing. In less than two months I’ll be 30 years old. I’m about to leave my twenties and I’m really proud of how I spent that year. I’m learning and growing, and I’m getting braver and stronger. I’m trying new things and making the best of what I’ve both been given in this life and what I’ve worked really hard to earn in this life.
And I want to continue to do some of those things this year, in 2018. So here are my goals for the year. I don’t tend to do resolutions and I also tend to think in the positive. I hate saying “I’ll stop doing this” or “I’m not going to do this anymore”. I’ve always thought it as setting yourself up for failure, because no one is perfect and no one can just stop anything. But I challenge myself to be more, to be braver, smarter, stronger, more aware, more active, more vocal, more passionate, more determined.
Here are my goals:
Be More Kind
I try to be as kind as I can be but I want to make a more concerted effort to be as kind as I can, inside and out. I can be kind in person but I do have unkind thoughts and I want to try and be more kind to people, inside and out.
Eat Healthier and Stop Sitting on My Ass
Here’s the thing, I am not doing a diet. I always fail and I feel bad about myself and then I eat everything in sight and then I feel even worse. I can’t give up potato chips or pizza or tacos or cupcakes because that just sounds so awful. But I want to be better. Less soda, less fast food, more vegetables, more eating at home. I want to be more aware of what I’m putting in my body. Remember, I’m going to be 30. I can’t eat like I’m still a broke college student anymore haha. I also want to be more aware of how active I am. Reading and blogging and writing and consuming movies and tv shows makes me incredibly lazy. Again, its not about going to the gym or losing weight but realizing that I can’t just sit on my butt all the time.
Be More Active: Go On More Hikes, Go Camping More, Get Outside!
For a writer/blogger/reader…outdoors sound so much better in books than it sounds in reality and I’ve been an indoor sort of girl for quite some time. Dating someone a lot more active than me, who likes to run and hike and go camping has made me remember how much I actually enjoy doing that kind of stuff. He took me on a really hard hike this past year and even though i was nearly dead afterward haha, I loved it so much and I want to do it more!
Overcome More of My Fears
I’m afraid of a lot of things: heights, bugs, anything that involves large bodies of water (I can’t swim!), basically anything new that I’ve never done before. In 2017, I went to a large music festival, I went hiking, I ziplined in Vegas, I climbed up on stage at a concert and danced in front of a ton of people. I did a ton of stuff that was scary and I want to keep doing that: going down the slide in LA on the side of the US Bank Tower, I want to ride a horse, learn to swim, shoot a gun.
Read More!
I only read 62 books this past year. WHAT? That’s insane. Now part of that was a huge slump, part of that was tiredness from the craziness that was 2016, part of that was I’m now dating a social butterfly so I’m never home to read and part of it was I felt incredibly disconnected to the YA community. I feel like my love for reading has returned and I have so many backlogged books that need to read…and new ones too!
Blog More!
Like I said above, I felt an incredible disconnect from the YA community and I just stopped blogging. I didn’t care…I didn’t feel a part of it. I still don’t. I’ve been doing this for almost six years now (wooooow) and it just isn’t the same as it was when I started. But I’ve come to terms with that and I’m back to my original goal of this blog: to share the love of nerd girl culture, especially in YA lit, and not focus on anything else. I want to write more posts, discuss more nerdy stuff and, yes, have more giveaways!
Self Publish My NA Baseball Romance, Benched
I shopped around Benched for quite some time and I’m hitting a wall and then I thought…new adult romance is a perfect genre for self publishing. I wanted to do it by spring but because of finances, it may be pushed back to fall/winter, but I definitely want that to be in your hands soon. I love the story, I adore Evie and Austin and I want to share them with the world.
Finish my YA Fantasy Novel
When I was about halfway through writing The Sanctuary, almost two years ago, I got an idea for a novel. I’d had a few ideas for things, a new sci-fi, that sort of thing, but this one really stood out to me. I pitched it, it fell flat and then I heard of an author writing something similar and…well, I was so discouraged, probably the most discouraged I’ve ever been in my own writing career. I didn’t write pretty much at all in 2017, and when I did, I tried the sci-fi idea I had…and I just didn’t feel it. I even tried to write a contemporary idea I had…nope. Then I started writing the fantasy idea I had two years ago and…it just sparked. This is the year to write!
Discover More Things
I want to watch more movies I haven’t watched before, I want to try new food and find new favorite restaurants, I want to discover new bands and I want to explore new places. I want to do more than just the “usual”. I will always have my favorites but I like finding more and getting new favorites. I discovered all these new things that I liked this last year (like poke!) and I’m ready to keep doing that.
Go to More Conventions and Events
Even though I’m skipping out on my usual fave, Gallifrey One, due to some very personal reasons, I want to get to more than I did last year. I basically did WonderCon and that was it. I want to go to WonderCon, San Diego Comic Con (professional status, what!), Long Beach Comic Con, Los Angeles Comic Con, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (first time I’ve missed that in years), YALLWest…I want to get to them all this year!
Go to New York City in November
My boyfriend and I did the crazy thing of buying Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Broadway tickets for November with no idea if we can actually get out there…and I have to get out there! I had a ton of mixed feelings about the book but I’ve heard seeing the play live is a totally different story and its Harry Potter and I need to see it. My goal is to definitely make that happen, plus I’ve never been to New York before!
Have the Best 30th Birthday and Ring in My 30s!
I’m turning 30 in February, on the 27th, which is sort of blowing my mind right now. For one thing, I don’t feel 30 in the slightest. I mean, sure, I’m mature, I know who I am and what I want. I feel confident in the person that I am but I’m still a total mess of a person and I make so many mistakes and doing stupid things…We have this idea that we’re so put together when we’re adults and I’m so not but I’m learning that that’s just kind of life haha. So I want to celebrate my 30th birthday in all the best ways possible, a big party, going to Trader Sams for some tiki drinks, getting a butterbeer at Wizarding World of Harry Potter, eating cupcakes from Sprinkles…and then I’m going to rock my 30s!
Make the World a Better Place
Okay…that sounds like a lot. But like I said above, things aren’t as good as they could be. We have the worst sort of human being as the president of the US, and he definitely does not have my best interests at heart. There are hate crimes all the time, and racism, homophobia, transphobia, bullying, torment, sexual harassment and abuse, and it breaks my heart. I want to spend my year continuing my determination to make more people be understanding and tolerant and accepting, to be more empathetic. I want to advocate for change and equality. I want to do more than just believe in it but to do it.
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What are some of your goals or resolutions for 2018?
