Month: December 2018

Hello all!

The time has come, yet again, to close the book on one year and begin a new journey in the next. That also means that right about now, we’re all being bombarded with media and messages about our New Year’s resolutions. I, for one, have never been a huge fan of making resolutions. I tried to do it as a kid, and I would make a long list of goals I would end up forgetting about by the third of January. Then, as we all do when we have failed on a resolution so early, I would feel pretty bad about myself and quit all of my original resolutions and return to being the same old me. After a few years of disappointment, I gave up on the idea of New Year’s resolutions altogether. I mean, I love the idea of a fresh start at the beginning of the year, but let’s face it. Thinking logically, I’m still the same old me when the countdown ends one year and ushers in the next. My life doesn’t magically become something that it is not by the stroke of midnight. I’m no Cinderella, believe me.

However, this year is a little bit different. In 2019, I really will be ushering in a new chapter in my life. I will graduate from college, (hopefully) find a job, and maybe even find an apartment for myself. All of these goals are things I hope to accomplish before 2020, but there are so many more that go along with them. By the time 2020 rolls around, I want to find more growth and success in being myself. I want to try my hand at part-time blogging, and maybe even freelancing. I want to start making YouTube videos consistently, for real this time. I want to write every day, even if it is only 500 words. If there was ever a time to make resolutions, it’s now, at the advent of a new life for myself.

However, being that I am still not crazy about the idea of “resolutions,” I came across the solution to my problem by watching a video made by one of my favorite YouTubers, Shayna Klee of The Purple Palace. She made this video about how she makes vision boards for every year, so that she can constantly be inspired by her goals and dreams. Manifest them, so to speak. I loved this idea so much, instead of just resolving to do things, I would visualize them, and make something to remind myself of what I want all throughout 2019. So, I made my own. However, since I’m on break and I don’t have access to a reliable color printer (the printer here at home has been possessed by a demon that’s out to get me since 2012), I did the next best thing. I turned to Pinterest and Canva, collectively my two favorite places to visualize/create on the internet. I got so excited, I made two…

Let me explain.

Let’s start clockwise from the top left corner.

• “Never be afraid to change,” because I struggle with change so much. Being this year is going to be filled with nothing but changes in my life, I figured this might be a good little reminder.
• The same kind of goes for the next, “Things will work out,” because even though I may fail and think I’m not doing well enough at this whole “adulthood” thing, I know eventually it will all work out.
• Next, I have a picture of a little kitchen, to signify the apartment I want to save up money for. This picture serves the purpose of two reminders: being more fiscally responsible, and by doing so becoming financially independent enough to live on my own. Also, this kitchen is just adorable and is exactly how I picture my first little apartment being. Albeit, it will probably be much smaller, but still.
• “The secret to having it all is knowing you already do.” This is to remind me to keep a happy and grateful heart no matter what. I am very privileged to have a good support system, and a good life in general. Even if things don’t go exactly how I want them in the coming year(s), I need to keep grounded in this fact. Also, it reminds me of the old Veggie Tales song from Madame Blueberry, and I always love a good Veggie Tales song to break up the whole adulting of it all.
• “The best is yet to come,” on a graduation cap, for obvious reasons. I may even decorate my grad cap this way, because it’s so pretty! This, or one of my favorite quotes from the books I’ve read in my time at college. Gotta put that Literature degree to use, right?
• “Take care of yourself,” because it is way too easy for me to forget to take care of myself. I have made a lot of improvements with my mental health this year especially. I’ve learned to deal with my anxiety in a more constructive way, and my body dysmorphic disorder hasn’t reared it’s ugly head in a while now. In order to keep all of these good changes going, I need to remember that even in light of change, I still need to nourish my mental and physical health.
• This one is a more physical goal I want to manifest. I want to get this tattoo in this spot on my wrist, in remembrance of my grandmother. She passed away on Thanksgiving, and I have missed her sorely this holiday season. I may write more about how I have learned to deal with grief, but I know I want to remember all of the things I loved about her and all the happy memories I have with her in the new year.
• This last one is related to the “Take care of yourself” picture from before. I love the mental picture of nourishing my mind and body as if it were a garden of flowers. I want to carry this visualization through 2019, and remember that I can only accomplish the goals I hold so dear by taking care of myself.

• Another reminder for a grateful heart. Kind of going along with the aforementioned reminder, I liked this quote as well.
• I think Shayna talked about this in the video that inspired me to undertake this project. Carrie Bradshaw with her laptop, writing away. Carrie is my favorite character on Sex and the City, mostly because she is a writer, and is even more neurotic than I am. I have always loved her style of writing, which they feature on each episode. She is so raw and relatable, and she’s in tune to the world around her. Also, she has such good habits when it comes to writing. Since she is basically a freelance writer, a career path I wish to pursue, I really appreciate her work ethic. This picture is to remind me of how I want to write in 2019: often, and with intention.
• “Do your thing.” Enough said. I want to be fully and unapologetically myself as I advance into the beginning of my adult life in 2019.
• Ah, yes. Friends on Friends, one of my all-time favorite shows. This is one of my favorite scenes from the show with Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe. They are just the ultimate picture of “friend goals” to me, and I want this picture to remind me to nourish my relationships. After I graduate, keeping in touch with my friends from school will not be as easy as when we were all living right on campus together. So, this just means I need to be more intentional with my relationships, as well. This will also remind me to take a Netflix break once and a while.
• “Plant your own garden…” This goes along with the previously mentioned idea of how I want to visualize my life in the coming year(s), but I liked this addition as well. This takes the visualization to the next level. In order to achieve my goals, I have to make it happen. I can’t depend on anyone else to make my dreams come true.
• Lastly, I hope to travel in 2019. More specifically, I want to go to England. My school is taking a group of students abroad on a two week trip to England, and I am hoping to gather enough money in order to be able to go. I have so many places in the world I want to visit, and England has always been first on my bucket list. Hopefully, if this particular dream comes true, it will mean that I will be able to write about it here on the blog.

So, after all of these goals, “resolutions” if you will, I wish to manifest in my life, here are the big takeaways. I want to write more consistently, maybe even on this blog! I want to nourish my mental and physical health, and take care of myself. I want to keep up with my friends after we graduate. I hope grow more with my fiance as we take on yet another year together. I want to speak to the small audience I have grown here, on the blog and on my Instagram. I hope to inspire those who read my work, and I will grow my body of work more than ever before in 2019. In looking at these vision boards, which I will eventually print (when I’m at school and I know it won’t be just a streaky mess…) and hang up. When I do, I’ll post a picture of where they end up as they move from place to place this coming year!

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Just a bit of housekeeping before I sign off… At this time every year, I like to take a moment to wish my blog a very happy birthday! I started my first blog, then “Lizzie’s Garden,” on December 29th, 2011. I must have lost track of the years, because the fact I have been blogging in some capacity for SEVEN YEARS (yes that was an all-caps, bolded, and italicized statement… don’t @ me) is just amazing to me! If you want to read my first ever blog post on the oft-renamed blog that eventually became the very first iteration of TGI as we know it today, click here!

2018 treated me well, and it’ll be bittersweet to say goodbye to this past year as we ring in 2019. But you know what? I think I’m ready to take 2019 on. It will likely be my most challenging year yet, but I’ll be okay. And I know you, reading this, will be, too.

XOXO