My Achievable Goals for 2018

This is a Rebel Post. Rebel Posts are off-topic posts about anything I feel like writing about. Please enjoy.

It’s almost 2018 which means it’s time for every writer’s year-end post complaining about how hard 2017 was or how they can’t wait to be out of this dumpster fire of a year. And while I can totally agree, one of my goals for 2017 was to remain more positive, and that’s how I’m going to look at 2018. I want this upcoming year to be filled with positivity, self-reflection and growth. My goals aren’t hard to achieve and aren’t some vague goal posts. Here are my goals for 2018!

1. Write more letters
   One of the things that kept me grounded in 2017 was writing letters to my friends and family. There’s something calming about sitting down with my favorite pens, some beautiful stationery and writing down my thoughts to the important people in my life. A letter is so much more personal than a text message or a phone call, and it’s unexpected as well. Even if I never receive a letter back, I love getting a text or seeing a post saying that my letter made their day. It’s something small that I can do for my friends, but something I can do for my benefit as well. My goal is to write at least one letter a week. I have enough stationery and stamps, so why not give it a go?
2. Focus on my new hobbies
   Makeup, nails, blogging and planning will always be my favorite things to spend my free time on, but I started so many new hobbies in 2017 that I want to devote more time to them. I bought a Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 camera before Camp Gritty and it was a lot of fun to take pictures of my friends and have a surprise picture each time. My brother bought me new film for Christmas, so it’s time to put it to use! I want to take more walks (something I’ve enjoyed in 2017) and explore more of my new state. I’d like to take more time to collect vinyl as well. Buying new vinyl is great, but there are so many wonderful record stores in Rhode Island that sell used, great-condition records. Maybe I’ll find my next favorite band! I’d like to explore these new hobbies to their fullest and find out how they make my life better.
3. Become vegetarian
   Eating completely vegetarian and vegan at Camp Gritty opened my eyes to how delicious and easy it is to go without meat and dairy. I’ve been cooking vegetarian and vegan recipes lately and it’s been so dang easy! And they’re super healthy, too. I didn’t miss meat when I was without it, and I found that my body feels better when I’m not eating meat. I don’t think I’ll become completely vegan (lack of support from my family, few vegan restaurants in my area, health reasons,) but I’d like to start cutting out meat completely and cut back on the amount of dairy I take in. I’ve already cut out cow’s milk and eat vegetarian when I go out. It will be a challenge for sure, but I want to do something healthy for my body and for my planet, and this seems like the best way to do both.
4. Support women-owned businesses
   I was taking a look at my spending habits and found that I don’t put my money where my values are. I like to say that it’s great to support women-owned businesses, yet I don’t frequent them often. Many of my female friends have webstores; why don’t I support them more often? It’s time that I do. I’d also like to support more local women-owned businesses. There’s a coffee shop that I go to that’s owned by a woman, but yet I still go to Dunkin’ and Starbucks. It’s time to start supporting that local business instead of a corporation. Support your friends and support small business.
5. Wake up earlier
   My final goal for 2018 may be the hardest one of all: wake up at 7 am, even on my days off. For most people that may be normal, but since most of my work right now is in retail, the earliest I ever have to be into work is 10 am. When I wake up past 9 am, I feel awful. I feel like my day is wasted and my energy is low throughout the entire day. The other day I woke up super early and got a ton of errands and chores done. And I had more time to do the things I wanted to like eat breakfast and meditate. I wasn’t rushing to get all of my chores done, and I like that. It’ll be tough, but after a while it’ll feel like nothing.

Those are my goals for 2018! I feel like I can achieve these. They aren’t lofty goals like losing 25 pounds. These are small changes that I can actually make. I’m excited for this new year and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me!

What are your goals for 2018? Let me know down below!