Happy New Year!

Santa Puppy and I on Christmas Eve! One of my fave moments :)

Yesterday's post was all about what I was most thankful for in 2013 and what I'm looking forward to this coming year, but since change comes when you take action, I'm going to share with you all my goals for 2014! It's much simpler to make overarching goals for yourself in terms of coming up with them but I've found that they're the hardest to accomplish. If you start the year with the intention of "losing weight" yet don't have a game plan, things are going to get increasingly more challenging. So this year I've tried to narrow down my goals into categories and made them focused. I don't know what 2014 will be like for sure but what I do know is that I have the choice to make things happen. yes, sometimes things surprise you and that's great, but a lot of the time that's usually because you did something that facilitated that amazing surprise. Therefore, this year is about trying my best to do the things I can to be the woman I would like to be. School/Career: - Do readings a little at a time, avoiding last minute heart attacks before class - Make the decision to change my major - Get an internship (preferably in beauty) - Maintain an 85% or above in all my classes (even in math..... oh boy!) - Stop procrastinating by setting daily goals for myself - Use my planner each day and keep it well organized - Join a club - Make connections with as many professors as possible Blog: - Write posts at least 5 times a week - Organize post writing + picture taking beforehand - Be more creative with content  - Connect with other bloggers (maybe even make new friends?) - Share my love of Christ through all that I write  - Aim to inspire, even just one reader, to feel beautiful (and work on that myself!) - Be open to opportunities that may arise Health:  - Learn to love running (or jogging) again by doing it at least 3x a week - Refill my water bottle with water 4 times a day and drink it all! - Limit buying food on campus to twice a week (including Starbucks drinks... another toughie!) - Fill my dinner plate with more veggies and less rice - Pick one day a week as "treat day" and hold off on sweets the rest of the days (you don't understand my weakness for desserts...) - Aim to exercise 5x a week for 30-45 minutes each day Spiritual: - Write in my devotional journal every night after meditating on the Word - Be fearless in spreading the love of Christ to others - Love God more by loving others, no matter who they are and what they do - Pray throughout the day more aka. mini conversations with God (staying connected at all times) - Learn to worship in new ways, not just through music - Find strength in the Lord and trust in Him in all situations - Look for more counsel when praying so everything I do is directed by God Personal: - Travel out of the country at least once! (Europe, I've got my eye on you!) - Be less shy and put myself out there more (sparking a conversation with a stranger... obviously not in dangerous situations haha!) - Strengthen the friendships I have and open myself up to new ones - Read more (at least a book a month) - Decorate my room and keep it clean (my mom would love this resolution) - Do something nice for people (just saying hello or buying them a simple gift) - Find the right skincare products for my skin type - Notice the positives in every situation - Be content with my life as it is, nothing more and nothing less Sorry for the long post! Although these are my own goals, it might spark some ideas for your goals of 2014. I'm glad this time I have them somewhere I can always reference them. Hope you had a fun night yesterday and that you're ready to make things happen this new year!