Happy New Year's Eve, friends!
It's the last day of the year, and I can go head and accept the fact that I have been a terrible blogger, reader, and reviewer this year. I barely read anything! I barely reviewed anything! It has been a tough year in blogging/reviewing.
I'll try to put together a Statistics post, as I usually do every year, but chances are, the stats aren't great, and I don't want to know about them.
2018 was a huge year in change for me. I did a lot of things, outside of reading and blogging. As much as I love reading and blogging, I had to put those things in the backseat.
So in this post, I want to look at the goals I had for 2018, and goals I have for 2019.
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My bookish goals for 2018 were the following:
- Reply to comments on my blog. I really dropped the ball last year. I have so many comments to reply to on my blog, from March 2017. I have no idea how I'm going to catch up. I'm doing pretty okay with returning comments on other blogs though.
- Comment on new blogs. I feel like I pigeonhole myself into commenting on only the blogs that I have saved to my bookmarks, or that auto-fills in the URL bar! I need to find new blogs.
- Be more active on Twitter. I've really moved away from Twitter, and I'd like that not to be the case. So we'll see how that goes.
- Meet bookish peeps in real life. This is always fun!
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So how did I do?
- Reply to comments on my blog. I did really badly with commenting. I haven't replied to anyone in a long time. I'm so sorry. I'm thinking about turning off the comments section. Comments are pretty sparse (as they should be - I haven't commented on anyone else's blog in a long time!).
- Comment on new blogs. See above. I've done terribly with commenting in general.
- Be more active on Twitter. I think I did this pretty well, especially towards the end of the year.
- Meet bookish peeps in real life. I ACTUALLY DID REALLY WELL WITH THIS! I met Lena M. at Renee Ahdieh's Smoke in the Sun event in Fairfax, and at Sabaa Tahir's A Reaper at the Gates event in D.C.!
(Lena and I at the Smoke in the Sun event)
Of course, I got to meet Renee Ahdieh and Sabaa Tahir too!
Renee Ahdieh, my sister (in blue), and me!
Me and Sabaa Tahir
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Some of my personal goals in 2018 were:
- Pay off my student loans.
- Buy a car.
- Travel more. 2018 is the first full year of me working (I graduated from undergrad in May 2017), so travelling is now possible!
- Create a personal Instagram account.
- Start dating/putting myself out there.
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How did I do?
- Pay off my student loans. Y'all. I did this. It was thousands of dollars, and I was no a zero dollar budget for at least six months, but as of April 2018, I am student loan free!
- Buy a car. I did this too! In May 2018, I bought my first car. I've never had a car. I've never shared a car with my siblings. So this is my first car. I love it! It's a new RAV4 and it's beautiful. Its name is "The Captain".
- Travel more. I have a wanderer's soul and I absolutely travelled! One of my goals is to visit all of the national parks. This year, I went to Harpers Ferry (West Virginia), C&O Canal (Great Falls, MD), and Independence National Historical Park.
Great Falls, MD
Great Falls, MD
I also went to ICELAND! I started in Reykjavik and did a road trip across south Iceland. It was beautiful! To see all of my gorgeous photos, you'll have to follow my personal Instagram (@alyssasadventuresinwonderland). There are some really great shots, if I may say so myself!
Gljúfrafoss (Iceland)
- Create a personal Instagram account. Here it is! @alyssasadventuresinwonderland
- Start dating/putting myself out there. This was a big one, and a very personal one. I haven't ever dated ~seriously~. I had some brief "dating" experience in my freshman year of college but I really don't count that for various reasons. I'm happy to say that I went on some dates this year! I joined the dating app Bumble. I have met some great guys (the most recent being a doctor), and I haven't gotten catfished or sent d*ck pics or run into any creepers, so I'm calling this a win! No boyfriend yet though. I guess I have to leave something for 2019...
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My Goals for 2019
(Both bookish and non-bookish)
- Figure out a blogging schedule that will work for me. Currently I'm posting something on the blog every day. I've done this for six years straight. I don't think this is feasible anymore. It was "easier" when I was in high school, and college, but now as an adult with everything I have going on, it's difficult. I think I'll need to cut back on the days I post. I'm at peace with this decision. It's what's best for me, for sure.
- Figure out how to get my reading mojo back. I went from reading 200+ books in a year to not even reading 50 books. Life is tough, especially when you're trying to experience every second of it. Sometimes you have to accept the fact that you're just not into the same things anymore. Or you have to accept the fact that the daily/weekly schedule that you had for yourself in a different part of your life isn't necessarily going to work in a new chapter of your life. I'd like to read at least four books a month. That seems doable; it's a huge step back from previous years. But it may work for me now.
- Travel more. I love travelling! I am going to southwest Florida in a few weeks. And then perhaps some other small domestic trips. And hopefully in September, a trip to Italy with a brief stop in Switzerland!
- Keep dating, but also, find a boyfriend? This is tricky because obviously I can't force some guy to like me. But I'd like to go on more dates. And hope that I meet the right guy for me.
- Start learning a new language. I tried to teach myself Icelandic last year. I was mildly successful in terms of pronunciations, and grammar, but I've forgotten everything I learned. I am fluent in Spanish so I might try Italian (especially with the Italy trip in the works)!
- Spend more time with my friends. Whether "IRL" or bookish - I'd like to see my friends more. I am going to push this, this coming year.
- Attend ALA in D.C. this summer. YEARS ago, maybe like three or four years ago, I remember being so excited to see that ALA would be held in D.C. in 2019. I remember thinking, I'll have graduated by then, and hopefully have a great job, and a car, and I'll be able to GO. Well, I think I will actually be able to do this.
Some bonus goals that might not happen (and that's okay):
- Take swimming lessons. I don't know if I'll have time or money for this, in 2019, but it would be cool. I hate not knowing how to swim. I hate going to beaches or hot springs or lagoons or swimming pools and not being able to flop right in. Or knowing I'll basically die if I fall into a body of water. I need to fix this problem ASAP!
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With all that being said, I think I had a great year in 2018. My bookish life wasn't so great, but my personal life was filled with great accomplishments. I have God to thank for that. I'm excited to see what 2019 has in store.
Please tell me how your 2018 goals went! What are some of your 2019 goals?
Yeah I think many bloggers struggled with 2018 at times. I am glad to hear that you are doing well and that you were able to get rid of those loans and things. Hope you have a better year in 2019!!! And cheers for finding a man, that is my goal too.
ReplyDeleteAWWWWWW I am so happy that I was finally able to meet you IRL this year and hope we can continue to see each other in 2019. :D
ReplyDeleteI know I have definitely slowed down in the reading department too... mostly because I realize how much time it takes to sit down and actually read. And sometimes you get distracted or want to try new things :) SO I am okay with that because books are always going to be around... (books are steady eddies haha)
I haven't checked out my resolutions from 2018 yet... I will look at in the new year and see how I did- I know for sure that I accomplished stuff in terms of getting more confident in driving, going to book events/signings, and meeting up with friends. :)
My goals for 2019: figure out a writing schedule for myself, maybe try to get back into my creative side, read books, and while I haven't posted too much on my blog I wonder if I can figure a different outlet for writing reviews.
I would check out YMCA or maybe at local college and see if they have adult swimming lessons- I do think swimming is very important, life-saving skill. (I can swim but not prettily... all you need to know is to tread water/ float)
ummm sorry for the long comment oops
It sounds like you're shifting towards more positive life experiences, which is a good thing! Blogging and reading less are fine, and you should be thrilled that you are even able to post every day. I always think that bloggers who have the bandwidth to post every day of the week have no life outside of blogging, which is kind of sad. Good luck with your 2019 goals, Alyssa!
ReplyDeleteChange can seem like a bear, but it looks like you are going with it and its working for you. You had a great year even if it was different from what you expected. Wishing you another wonderful year and cheering you on with your 2019 goals, Alyssa. :)
ReplyDeleteThis was my favorite Eater of Books post of the year. Sounds like you've had a very successful 2018! I'm so impressed that you paid off your student loans -- that's an amazing accomplishment. My husband and I have been out of school for literal decades and we're still paying off our student loans. Congrats on trying some new things. What about listening to audiobooks while you're getting ready for work, or during your drive on a road trip? You can download them free from your library. You seem like a lovely person, and I'll pray that God sends you just the right companion for your life.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on paying off the student loans and buying a car! Those are both HUGE, and I love your car's name! I'm with you on traveling more. I hope Italy and Switzerland work out for you! And I think you're right; it's okay if you're in a season where reading and books aren't as big as they used to be. Here's to an amazing 2019!
ReplyDeleteYou did amazing with your personal goals. I finished grad school in 2004, and I am still paying my student loans. So, yeah, that's incredible that you are at $0. My first car was a RAV4 too. I got it in the 90s, when they were brand new, but I loved it. And I am jealous of all your traveling. I don't buy stuff, because I would rather use the money to go places and do things, and you saw some wonderful places. Wow! Good luck with all your goals!
ReplyDeleteI know how hard it is to pay off a student loan!! MY daughter finally paid off hers..she also likes to travel and now that she is near TO,she can do it, she usually takes two trips a year, so basically being single isnt really that bad of a thing!!
ReplyDeleteWow! You paid off your student loans? I am amazed! That totally blows any other goal out of the water! I wanted to try to get out there more with dating apps, but didn't get any bites it seemed. Probably I just need to spend 2019 working on myself so that I feel like I am ready to be with someone. I didn't do that great with my blogging and reading goals, had to drop my reading goal on Goodreads way down early in the year when I noticed how far behind I was, but in the end I made it. You can check out my goal results HERE.
ReplyDeleteI loved this recap a whole bunch lovely. <3 I am so so glad this past year was awesome for you personally, most of the time :D SO happy about the loan being paid back. <3 And first car is so so awesome :D And I love all the travelling you have gotten to do already. Eee. I hope you will get to visit more places :) And find a boyfriend soon too, haha. <3 I have gotten pretty much zero comments for so so long now. It is heartbreaking. Sigh. But I understand that everyone is busy these days :) And aw, I am so sorry that you have not been able to read so much lately :\ but completely understand too. I have so little time as well. Ahh. I hope you will get to do more of what you want to this year love. <3
ReplyDelete(I'm this far behind on commenting, again, ugh, but I will catch up. Slowly, maybe. Will see how much I can manage, haha.)