I tend to get very self-reflective on my birthday, thinking back on the previous year and making goals for what I want to accomplish in the following year. I suspect I would do this regardless of when my birthday fell (that's just the kind of person I am), but it's perhaps especially heightened by having a birthday that falls in December, amidst all the "End of Year" news articles, blog posts, and TV specials that reflect on 2017, and the advertisements that encourage new resolutions to be made for 2018.
One of the most memorable parts of the year were the vacations my husband I took - visiting Harry Potter world in Orlando in February, and seeing old friends in Boston in June for a friend's wedding. For next year, we don't have any concrete plans yet, but we do have some ideas we've been tossing around - including going to New York City for a few days. I've never been, and it's always been on my bucket list. I love seeing live theater, I love visiting art museums, and I like doing stereotypical touristy stuff, too. I've been to some of Western Europe's biggest cities (Paris twice, Rome twice, Venice twice, Florence twice, Naples once, Barcelona once), but I've never made it (yet) to NYC! I think it's high time that's remedied. ;)
This past year I've tried to make strides towards self-care. That includes watching my diet and keeping track of my glucose as per my treatment plan for my diabetes (Type LADA - read more here), but also working on myself emotionally/mentally - learning how to recognize negative thought spirals/self abuse, and figuring out how to appreciate myself instead. These are things I want to continue prioritizing when I'm 29, and I've made some concrete step-by-step plans for how to carry out these goals - techniques I can try, things to be aware of, and lists of important reminders I need to make it a habit to refer back to.
In the last year, I've also focused a lot on my art - especially colored pencil drawings, which I was completing in time to exhibit at the "GRRRLS Like Us" show at the Village Theater in Canton, MI. My artistic goals for 2018 are not as singular in focus, because I don't (yet) have a specific exhibition I'm preparing for. Instead, my goals are to do a little of everything - some acrylic paintings, some watercolors, and some colored pencil drawings - focusing perhaps more on acrylic and watercolor, just to balance out all the colored pencil I did this year. I never got back to all those ideas I had for square 12"x12" acrylic paintings, and I want to revisit those in the coming year.
One thing that definitely fell by the wayside in 2017 was my writing. I've been working on writing a series of novels on and off for a few years now, and with all the art I was doing in 2017, my writing took the back-burner. I haven't even touched any of it in months. Part of that is also because I've been writing other things - lots of personal journal entries and things for myself, as part of my self-care techniques mentioned above - and there's only so much time/energy I have to devote to writing. But I do want to get back into my fiction writing as well.
As usual, I have plenty of ideas of things I'd like to do - and not enough time in the day to do them all. I've never had a problem coming up with ideas. What I really need is a way to come up with more time to see all my ideas through.
I'm pretty happy with how my life is going right now, and I remain optimistic about the future. I'm looking forward to being 29 years old and making the most of the last year of my 20s. I'm also looking forward to 2018 - the year I turn 30. There are two sealed envelopes in my desk drawer that I am excited to open on my 30th birthday - a letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was 23, and another letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was about to turn 26. Now I'm only one year away from that 30 milestone. It's both hard to believe (time really does fly by!) and pretty exciting. :)
One of the most memorable parts of the year were the vacations my husband I took - visiting Harry Potter world in Orlando in February, and seeing old friends in Boston in June for a friend's wedding. For next year, we don't have any concrete plans yet, but we do have some ideas we've been tossing around - including going to New York City for a few days. I've never been, and it's always been on my bucket list. I love seeing live theater, I love visiting art museums, and I like doing stereotypical touristy stuff, too. I've been to some of Western Europe's biggest cities (Paris twice, Rome twice, Venice twice, Florence twice, Naples once, Barcelona once), but I've never made it (yet) to NYC! I think it's high time that's remedied. ;)
This past year I've tried to make strides towards self-care. That includes watching my diet and keeping track of my glucose as per my treatment plan for my diabetes (Type LADA - read more here), but also working on myself emotionally/mentally - learning how to recognize negative thought spirals/self abuse, and figuring out how to appreciate myself instead. These are things I want to continue prioritizing when I'm 29, and I've made some concrete step-by-step plans for how to carry out these goals - techniques I can try, things to be aware of, and lists of important reminders I need to make it a habit to refer back to.
In the last year, I've also focused a lot on my art - especially colored pencil drawings, which I was completing in time to exhibit at the "GRRRLS Like Us" show at the Village Theater in Canton, MI. My artistic goals for 2018 are not as singular in focus, because I don't (yet) have a specific exhibition I'm preparing for. Instead, my goals are to do a little of everything - some acrylic paintings, some watercolors, and some colored pencil drawings - focusing perhaps more on acrylic and watercolor, just to balance out all the colored pencil I did this year. I never got back to all those ideas I had for square 12"x12" acrylic paintings, and I want to revisit those in the coming year.
One thing that definitely fell by the wayside in 2017 was my writing. I've been working on writing a series of novels on and off for a few years now, and with all the art I was doing in 2017, my writing took the back-burner. I haven't even touched any of it in months. Part of that is also because I've been writing other things - lots of personal journal entries and things for myself, as part of my self-care techniques mentioned above - and there's only so much time/energy I have to devote to writing. But I do want to get back into my fiction writing as well.
As usual, I have plenty of ideas of things I'd like to do - and not enough time in the day to do them all. I've never had a problem coming up with ideas. What I really need is a way to come up with more time to see all my ideas through.
I'm pretty happy with how my life is going right now, and I remain optimistic about the future. I'm looking forward to being 29 years old and making the most of the last year of my 20s. I'm also looking forward to 2018 - the year I turn 30. There are two sealed envelopes in my desk drawer that I am excited to open on my 30th birthday - a letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was 23, and another letter I wrote to my 30-year-old self when I was about to turn 26. Now I'm only one year away from that 30 milestone. It's both hard to believe (time really does fly by!) and pretty exciting. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment