2017 GOALS

I super belatedly posted my 2016 wrap up, so now it’s time for the obligatory goals and resolutions post. How boring, right? Um, maybe to you guys! As I think is clear by now, lists and goals are my happiness bread and butter. This is basically my favorite time of year.

  • I start this year much like the last. One of the main things I want to refocus on is my health. I was successful last year mostly, but the move to Spain really threw me off. The food here! It’s delicious, but man is it unhealthy. It’s all fried and meat and cheese. And it all comes with basically free wine. I haven’t been able to find a pilates class, and it’s too cold/wet to exercise outside. This has led to a lot of inactivity and a lot of unhealthy eating. It’s time to make a change!
  • I want to keep working on my Spanish. It has improved massively from when I first arrived, but I’ve never been more than a high beginner, and the weeks away in December have really set me back.
  • I want to write as much as possible and recommit to this blog. So no more weeks/months between posts–I want to be able to look back on this time and have a complete idea of what I was thinking and doing.
  • I want to see more new places. So far this year I have the following trips either booked or planned. Obviously things change, so this is tentative, but so far I have:
      • January – Belgium. I actually just returned from here yesterday! I went to Bruges and Brussels, and there is a full post coming soon!
      • February – I’m not totally sure what February will be. I know Gareth is coming here for my birthday/THE SUPER BOWL (!!!), but I’m not sure if we’ll try to plan anything else.
      • March – I’ll be going back to London in March, and my friend from LA will be in Europe, so I’ll be meeting up with her somewhere!
      • April – Spring break! I’ll be spending most of it in Italy and Slovenia, but I might try to add a trip to Budapest and into transylvania in Romania to the end of the trip.
      • May – Again, nothing is really planned here yet. I’ll have to go to my new city to do my renewal forms so I don’t lose my visa, so (hopefully) a trip to Andalucia, and maybe Portugal or Palma?
      • June – This will be another big travel month. Hopefully I’ll spend a few weeks in Lebanon volunteering with refugees. Then I’ll go back to the states, and road trip from the north down the west coast ending in LA, and seeing my friends there! (AND GETTING MY ITALIAN PASSPORT!?!?)
      • July/August – These months are super unclear. If I’m Italian, I’ll move in with Gareth and work in London. If not, I have a few options. Au pair, work in summer camps, move home, or do a work visa for a few months in Australia?? Not sure, but I could really wind up anywhere.
      • September – I’ll return to Spain and find a place to live/get a new life set up. And hopefully take a few weeks to do a cheap overland trip from Zagreb down through Croatia all the way to Greece!
      • From there I have no plans, but I’ll be teaching again starting in October and will probably fit in a few more trips as well. Definitely to the southern Spanish cities, and hopefully to Portugal and/or Palma if I haven’t made it there yet.
  • And lastly, there are a few 30 before 30 goals I think/hope I could accomplish this year.
      • Become Italian! (It has to be this year, right?!)
      • Go to Italy
      • Go to Greece
      • Stay in Shakespeare and Co bookstore
      • Learn to cook 5 meals very well
      • Run a 10k (or maybe a 12k Spartan race? I’d count it 🙂
      • Learn Spanish. I hope to make that my main focus this year, and by January of next year, feel confident saying I speak the language.

So, I’ve got some plans and things to focus on. Maybe a few too many things to focus on, but hopefully I’ll accomplish at least a few of them!