Hello, wanderers!
I saw someone do a post like this and got inspired, so here are the goals I set for 2022, whether I achieved them, and what my goals look like for 2023.
2022 was probably not my favorite year, in all honesty. 2022, 2019, and 2016 are among my least favorite recent years; 2022 came with a lot of pain and loneliness, in the beginning, and middle, and we got kicked out of our house in the summer, and forced into a big house with big problems in the fall. At college, I couldn’t help my family as much as I wanted to, so that challenged me. Overall, I’m grateful for what was accomplished and of course thankful to God for pulling me out of some terrible situations, even though the sting is still strong, like our homelessness and a troubling relationship I had. With that said…
2022 Goals
So here’s the thing. I never actually planned out goals for 2022, so I can’t check on those. But a few things I remember were:
- Departmental Honor. I prayed and hoped for this ever since I heard about the freshman mathematics scholarship. Struggling through Calculus III, I did end up with it in April. I’m really thankful!
- Get into an Honors program. God answered this prayer. Though I got rejected from one honors program, I got into another. I still feel the disappointment of that rejection… but I’m grateful for where I am.
- NaNoWriMo 2022. Actually, I got to 51, 000 words on my current manuscript. I cheated a bit, though. In August, I did around 40, 000 words, so I only had 10,000 to finish in November. I didn’t make any progress on the third round of edits for my WIP, though.
- Contribute to the school newsletter. This did not happen.
- Chorale. This did happen!
- Find a church. Although it’s been a process, I’ve been attending a wonderful church during my time at college. I’m praying about membership and the sermons aren’t quite what I’m used to, but I love everyone there. It’s been a big highlight of my semester!
- Do 6 creative photoshoots. Well, I’ve learned that any photoshoot is creative if you make it creative! But I have done more creative photography this year, despite Lightroom issues, so I’m thankful about that. Since May, I’ve done four major creative photoshoots.
- Powerlift. I started a powerlifting program in August. I think I completed 8 weeks of it — sickness and vacations had me irregular, but I’d say that’s a goal completed. My back strength has improved a lot.
- Read 50 books. Honestly, this did not happen. At school, book reading went down the drain. Maybe it’s because I picked the Book of Lost Tales…and no offense to Tolkien, but the pacing was too slow
Other things I’m thankful for in 2022: landing the job of my dreams at the community center, completing an honors statistics project, family time, meeting new friends and being supported by old friends this semester, and completing a research project to present at a conference in February.
2023 Goals.
Now this is what I hope for 2023!
- Literary Contest. I would love to win, or at least place, in this year’s literary contest.
- Conferences. I’d like to present quality material at two conferences: a collegiate and intercollegiate conference.
- Volunteering. I would love to invest in a local El Sistema organization, childrens’ program at my college, and maybe the community center.
- Writing. 40 blog articles, 3rd round of edits, completed draft of another WIP, and continued poetry education/publication are all goals in this area!
- Reading books. I’d like to read 25 books by the end of the year.
- Photoshoots. I want to do eight quality creative photoshoots this year, probably collaborations with other artists and photographers and based on our combined ideas. Doing these shoots throughout 2022 was so much fun; I can’t wait for another year. Of course, I also want to go through one online photography course, learn from local photographers, submit my photos to contests and publications, and build a professional website. (Maybe from scratch! Who knows?)
- Departmental Honor. I would love to earn a departmental honor, I hope for research or mathematics. It was amazing to be given one last year; I understand if it can’t happen, but I want to be an honors-worthy student, at least. Even if I don’t get it, along the way I’d do stuff like projects, presentations, maintaining a 4.0…
- Summer Internship. Looking at graduate school, I want to participate in a meaningful summer internship with mathematics to help me decide if it’s something I want to do in the future. I’m already leaning towards a languages and literature based graduate degree, but just to be sure, I want some experience in a STEM / corporate field before I decide.
- Be an excellent tutor. That’s my job. This year, I felt like I was a little incompetent with some Precalculus questions. I don’t want to fumble around for answers. But I do feel like I incorporated tutees’ own knowledge in a good way sometimes and formed some positive relationships with a few, so that was a great experience.
- Run a 27 minute 5k, uninjured. This one I’m nervous about. After PFS knocked me out of running for almost 3 years, I’m wary of going back in. (Today I found out my new running shoes didn’t fit, so that didn’t feel great).
But with okays from my doctor and physical therapist, I’m tentatively considering a return. I feel like everyone thinks I’m much stronger than I am, but if the physical therapy and strengthening goes well and I control my muscles, hopefully I’ll be running trails and races again. If not, I’ll stick to powerlifting. - Consistent quiet times. It’s so central I don’t even think of making it a goal, but obviously Jesus is the most important part of life. I don’t just want to check a quiet time of a list, I want his voice to transform my life. I want him to make every year of my life better than the last because I’ll be closer and closer to him.
What are your goals for 2023? And what did you think of 2022?
Stay inspired,
thoughts of a wanderer 