If you didn’t already know, I’m actually not that big of a fan of holidays. I used to get super stressed out about making everything perfect from the decorations to seeing every family member to buying the presents- and I’m just done with being so obsessed with it. I could go on and on about this, but the point is that I’m also not a fan of making New Years Resolutions. I have learned that I am so self-disciplined that this quality actually works against me by making myself miserable to complete the goal that I made for myself without actually asking if I’m happy- which is the point of making the goal anyway, right? Things happen in life and get in the way of your goals and I’m trying to work on accepting these hiccups instead of seeing them as roadblocks for my goals.

            HOWEVER, it’s easy to get sucked in to everyone that reflects on 2018 and sets his or her goals for 2019. So as I was stuck in an airport for 5 hours, I thought about what I have learned in the previous year and how I can change it in the New Year.  This is what I came up with

1.     Watch less TV and read more books
I watched SO MUCH TV this past year. I always tried to stop, but I honestly just find it so relaxing. It is also very uninspiring (unless it has great cinematography). I am trying to embrace more of my creative side this year, so I think TV has to go. There no hard lines on this, but I want to be more conscious of when I could read a book instead of mindlessly watching TV

2.     Photograph more (other than myself)
I really love photography, and I actually don’t enjoy taking pictures of myself, but HELLO- That’s what get more likes on the gram. I want to try to take more pictures of objects or events because it makes me happy. So if you start to see more pictures of stuff and less of me- that’s why.

3.     Be more dedicated to friends
 I went through this phase in school where I was super dedicated to my schoolwork and didn’t let anything get in my way. During this time I lost many friends, mainly because I just didn’t spend time with them. I don’t know if I regret doing this, because I obviously had to pass grad school, but I just know that living that way isn’t necessary anymore. I want to invest more into my social life and meaningful friendships in 2019.

4.     Embrace the no-diet mindset
I feel like I have already made great strides towards this recently, but I want to keep working on it. I think traveling to India really helped me with this because it was so hard to stay healthy. I honestly didn’t exercise 1 day or even eat any vegetables during this trip (I didn’t have the time to exercise and vegetables could potentially make you sick if they aren’t cooked properly). Instead I just listened to my body for if it was full or hungry and ate accordingly. Guess what- NOTHING HAPPENED. I still fit into my clothes and now am craving healthy food for days. For my media outlets, I will no longer explicitly promote diets or health food. I will promote healthy and unhealthy food and just eating what your body craves.

5.     GET A JOB -> pay down loans -> pursue side hustle
Okay this is more just an update, but I guess it can also be a 2019 intention. In June I will be graduating from my dietetic internship program, then I will take the registered dietitian exam, and then I will be on the hunt for a job. What kind of job? Literally no clue. I’m kinda just hoping something will work out, and ultimately I need to pay off my loans so I’ll probably be more salary driven than anything. But I have always been interested in the more creative qualities that I have and figuring out a way to pursue this. My tentative plan is to get a job that can help teach me skills for future creative endeavors. Clinical? Sales? Eating Disorders? Personal Counseling? What ever I end up doing, I want to contribute a significant amount to my loans and hopefully pay them off within 4 years. On the side I want to keep developing my blog and youtube videos and figure out how to grow my personal brand. What that means? I don’t really know.

What do you want out of me for 2019? What do you want out of yourself?