I'm back! Sorry for the unannounced hiatus in the last month, but I took some time out to study, do exams, and chill out over Christmas after a busy semester. I've missed it on here, but definitely needed a rest, thank you for baring with me.
All of a sudden it's 2015... how did that happen? Wasn't 2010 just a few months ago? With a new year comes new opportunities and a fresh slate. I know many of us want to achieve lots this year, but how do you do it? Or even, how do you start to achieve those goals?
That's not an easy question as there's a big spectrum- whether you want to grow your hair a couple inches, or if it's wanting to lose 50lbs, there's a clear difference, but there is a few things that will work for everything.
I believe in whole-heartedly knowing you can achieve whatever you want with effort. Taking the goal and using your senses to consolidate what you want can also be pretty successful. A few ways in which to do this are:
- Creating a mood board (pintrest, or you could take a trip to the craft store and re-familiarise yourself with PVA glue)
- Making a blog/blog series based upon your targets (e.g. weight loss blog)
- Taking pictures of progress, for example before and after weight loss
- Joining support groups/making friends with like minded people (smoking quitting or weight watchers)
- Writing a diary
- Hypnotism??? (something a little taboo, but there are people out there who swear by it)
I have a few aims I would like to meet myself, some more difficult than others... in December 2015 I will be able to look back and analyse whether they have happened!
Learn Some Spanish
Spanish wasn't a language taught in my high school: I had began learning French when I was 10, and took up German for a couple years when I was older. I never really got into it, the way the teachers taught it was so disconnected, and well, they were a bit scary. So I gave them up by 16. Spanish, however has a greater presence in the world nowadays, and I believe could be really useful in business... plus, I'd like to be able to sing along to Enrique Iglesias' Spanish versions. I have my motives.
Gain a Place in my University's Study Abroad Programme
My application form is in, now I have to wait and see if my grades meet the academic requirements. Luckily, I left myself in a strong position due to a good grade in the class test, needing only 29/75 to make the cut. But it also depends on how my interview goes, that is, if I get invited for one. This is something I'm very passionate about... not sure how I'd feel if I wasn't selected. I decided I needed to broaden my horizons- originally I was desperate to go to University of Miami, only to find out at the presentation the affiliation was on hold for the year. But I was also very set on choosing San Diego State for a high up selection. After a lot of research on colleges.niche.com, and questioning Americans on collegeconfidential.com, I found out that University of Mississippi and UMass Amherst were also really good fits for me. Just to be on the safe side I included UNC Wilmington (I can totally see myself surfing) and University of Kansas.
All I can do for now is hope that I get this amazing opportunity.
Get Healthy
I'm leaving this as a little ambiguous, because "getting healthy" means different things to different people. Some need to gain fat, some gain muscle, and others lose fat. Some people may even be a healthy weight, according to measures like BMI, but may not be eating a healthy diet.
For me I'd like to drop a size to a UK 8, become toned through tools like Blogilates and weight machines at the gym, and trim a little fat off through cardio. I use a few other support tools such as MyFitnessPal to understand my body's needs, and follow blogs which encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Let me know, do you have any goals you'd like to achieve this year? How do you plan on doing this? Here's to 2015!
