Goals for 2019

Happy New Year! I love new years. I know some people don’t care about it or even dislike it, but I always get excited for this time of year. Mostly, it is because I try to approach new years with a mindset that it is a new beginning. Big or small, it is an opportunity to reflect, refresh, and move forward.

Normally, I would try to post a yearly wrap-up post before writing about my goals for the upcoming year, but this year, writing this post first just feels right. I think the reason that I feel this way is because I am ready to move forward rather than look back. I plan on doing a lot of posts about events that happened in 2018 in the upcoming year, so I’ll focus on those when the time comes. For now, keep reading to check out what I’ve got on the horizon as far as goals go.

Cosplay

If you have been a reader of my blog for a while, you might already know that I don’t like announcing specific cosplay plans because it stresses me out. I don’t like setting expectations for people, and then when my plans change because of whatever reason, I feel like I’m letting people down. I do however have goals for my cosplay that are chosen to drive me to improve as an artist.

Cosplay Contests

Last year, I won second place at Electric City Comic Con, and it was my first time winning an award at an on-stage costume contest. I really want to compete in two larger competitions in the upcoming year.

3D Printing

Josh and I purchased a 3D printer as a joint Christmas present to each other in 2017! It is still in the box. I opened it this past weekend, but now that the house has been made safe electronically, it’s one of my priorities to get this baby up and running.

Crafting Basement

We are very fortunate to live in a house that has a decent amount of open space, and I feel like it could be utilized better. Right now, my craft room is upstairs in the third bedroom, but I’ve acquired more sewing machines than I currently know what to do with. We have a large, open basement that has great potential, and I’ve concocted the idea that it would be an awesome crafting space. This is going to take a lot of work and patience, but I definitely look forward to working on this transition. I also plan on using the current craft room as more of an office space and reading room once I can do so.

Personal

Josh and I had a wonderful wedding in 2018, and we have been enjoying that time in our lives being behind us. I’m so happy that our wedding was more amazing that we could have dreamed, but we are both so happy to be able to focus on other things again.

Food

I watched a very good documentary called “Wasted” on our trip back from Barcelona, and it really reinforced some of the feelings I already had about portion sizes and food waste after spending a second week in Europe. I’d definitely recommend watching it if you’re looking for a fresh perspective on how we see food. Some of my favorite wedding presents were the raised garden beds that several of our guests bought us. Pairing that with the compost bin we got for Christmas, I plan to start gardening again after a two year break. This will not only allow us to focus on eating healthier, but also focus on wasting less.

Mental and Physical Health

My best friend convinced me to join her in the Run the Year 2019 challenge once again, but this time we will be doing it as a team. I have been exercising more regularly again recently, and I just hope that I can manage to keep up with it. To compliment the healthy habits, one thing I want to focus on is being kind to myself mentally. It is really easy to get on social media and compare yourself to others rather than enjoy other people’s content, so my challenge to myself is to appreciate my body the way it is because I am very fortunate that I have good health. I think that by allowing myself to be positive about all that I do have, it will be easier to work on improving overall.

Wardrobe

I believe I want to elaborate on this in later blog posts, but fast fashion is something I have begun to be very aware of as an issue in the world. In 2019, I am going to minimize purchasing clothing from first-hand stores as much as possible. Obviously there will be things that I will still be buying such as underwear, running shoes, and other certain items, but other than that I am going to do my best to either purchase from thrift/ second-hand stores or making items that I really want to add to my wardrobe.

Measurable Goals

The last category is a mishmash, but mostly, this is going to be the category that has measurable goals that I’m going to try to strive for in 2019. Most of these goals are pertaining to my online presence, but some of them are just personal goals. A lot of these goals are what I would consider lofty, and I won’t be heart broken if I don’t achieve them. This year I am setting more of these types of goals for myself because I want something to look back on, and see how I did against a number.

• Grow YouTube channel to 1000 followers
• Upload 1 video to YouTube every Monday
• Grow Instagram account to 10K followers
• Grow website to 5K page views per month
• Post 1 blog per week
• Complete online portfolio section of website
• Read 30 books
• Cut remaining student loan debt in half

Overall, I’m just excited to make this year the best one yet. Life isn’t always pretty, and I don’t have positive days everyday. I do however try my best to maintain a positive outlook, and having goals helps me maintain a vision for my bigger picture when I have bad days or a bad streak of luck. What are some of your new years goals or resolutions or themes you have for 2019? Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to subscribe via email or Bloglovin’ to never miss a post!