My 2018 Goals

I usually hesitate on setting specific resolutions for myself at the beginning of the year because realizing towards the middle of the year or at the end of the year that you've forgotten about your resolutions and fallen off track can be super discouraging. Since I'm all about positivity, I typically like to avoid things that make me feel bad about myself. Another problem I have with resolutions is that I don't always know at the beginning of the year what I need to be improving or working on. Sometimes insights like that come to us randomly throughout the year as we naturally live our lives.

However, since I've entered my mid- twenties I've realized that there are many things in my life I haven't accomplished yet and that setting clear goals (not resolutions) can help me be motivated and pave the path that I should be taking for the year. I tried to make goals that I felt were attainable in a year and that I felt would help me grow. Note- these are not resolutions or things I want to change about myself. I'm content with the way I am, but there is always room for new dreams and new ideas.

Travel to 3 Foreign Countries

You guys have probably heard this one before because this is the one goal that I've kept and succeeded in achieving through all these years. Travel is one of my biggest passions, but its unfortunately not my full time job so it can be easy to forget to feed my passion when I'm busy trying to make a living. To avoid this pitfall, I decided a long time ago that I would explore at least 3 new destinations in foreign countries. I recap my previous years' adventures and highlight some of my travel plans here.

Cook/Bake More

Its no secret that I love to eat out. Living in New York, there is no shortage of amazing restaurants or dessert bars available for me to try and quench my curiosity. I simply love exploring the dining scene and tasting all the different foods out there. However, dining out can be quite expensive and not always the healthiest option. Instead of committing to losing a certain amount of pounds (something that I know I can never willingly achieve), I want to make it a priority to improve my cooking and baking skills so that I'm more motivated to eat healthier homemade options instead of going out all the time. I made pesto pasta with chicken yesterday!

Take Advantage of the Outdoors

When I lived in Texas I was always a homebody. I preferred to stay indoors watching TV or reading, rather than going outside. But being in a big city, I feel like I would be wasting my time if I just sat around all day in my house doing what I felt was comfortable. So one of my goals is to explore the outdoors and get more fresh air. I hiked the challenging Breakneck Mountain and tried white water rafting for the first time last year and loved the adrenaline. I can't wait to see what other outdoor activities await me- maybe rock climbing, hiking, or kayaking?

Write Often and Write For Myself

Sometimes I get the feeling like I'm not doing enough for my blog or that no one is really reading what I write. I'm sure this is a common fear that many bloggers experience at some point. It occasionally makes me wonder if I'm just wasting my time and then I tend to want to write less. So I have to remind myself that one of the main reasons why I started Toast and Travel was so that I could document personally my experiences while living in New York and while traveling. It wasn't to try and impress other people or to make money. I want to spend this year improving the quality of my writing (which can only be achieved through more practice) and I want to write about things I'm passionate about without caring whether or not someone else is interested in it.

Make New Friends

I've always been under the impression that a person can never have enough good friends. I'm not talking about people you meet in passing and never speak to again, but instead those people who you meet and form a strong friendship with. I don't want to simply meet a bunch of new people- I want to make more lifelong friends. I've been blessed with some amazing best friends and sorority sisters both in New York and back in Texas and I couldn't have made it this far in life without them. Friendship has a special way of forming a support system that allows you to fall back when you need them and some experiences can only be experienced through having friends. I met some awesome friends in 2017 and I can't wait to see who will become my friend in 2018!

What are some goals you guys have for the new year?