I know it’s been the new year for five days already, but I wanted to take a moment to look at back at this past year and share some of my goals for the new year.
blogging
Although I didn’t blog quite as consistently last year as I’d hoped, I’m still proud of what I have published. I started posting poetry for the first time this year, which was really exciting.
This year, my goal is to post every weekend. I hope to share more of my artwork with you this year, especially poetry and personal essays.
music
My music tastes changed so much last year! Before last year, I didn’t listen to anything on repeat. My top song in 2020 had six total plays. I started off listening to evermore on repeat at the beginning of the year, until I discovered Phoebe Bridgers‘s music, which introduced me to the indie genre as a whole and some other artists who collaborated with her.
My top song of the year in my 2022 Spotify Wrapped was Elliot’s Song by Dominik Fike and Zendaya. No, I do not watch Euphoria. I discovered this song on a Spotify playlist, and it quickly became a favorite because it has such a calm, relaxing sound. I listened to it a total of 209 times.
The other songs in my top five were Chinese Satellite, Garden Song, and Kyoto by Phoebe Bridgers, and Funeral by Maisie Peters (feat. James Bay).
reading
I read so many great books last year that I haven’t gotten the chance to review yet. My favorite was In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner. I actually read it twice, once in the summer and again in November. In the Wild Light is the perfect comfort read because of the cozy atmosphere and lovable characters.
My reading goal for this year is to read twenty-four books.
writing
I started writing poetry last year, which wasn’t even one of my goals at the beginning of the year. I finished the year with a total of one hundred fifty-four poem drafts. I have improved significantly since the first few I wrote at the beginning of the year. Poetry has helped me to articulate my feelings and has been a great creative outlet. My goal for this year is to write another hundred poems.
I didn’t finish the third draft of Dragon Tamer as I’d planned, because I had to set it aside in order to focus on my poetry and my new NaNoWriMo project. I learned so much from the editing process and hope to carry that knowledge into my future writing endeavors. I am also learning to be okay with not finishing everything.
In November, I wrote my second novel, Magenta Sky. This writing experience differed from the writing experience with Dragon Tamer and everything before that because I hadn’t planned everything out beforehand. As a plotter, this was scary at first, but it was so exciting to get to know the characters and story throughout the month.
I’m not sure if I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, since I’ll be a freshman in college in November and won’t have as much time to devote to writing, but I may plan on doing it in 2024, and keep a pattern of writing every other year, with the “in between years” as breaks or editing years.
life
I didn’t share as much about my life on the blog this year, as I focused more on sharing my artwork, and I’m realizing the need to protect my own privacy. However, this year was quite an exciting one for me.
I travelled to Paris, Athens, and Barcelona, and saw more of the world than I’d ever imagined I would. I’m so grateful for these experiences and everything they taught me.
Over the summer, I participated in a class at my local radio station and even had the opportunity to interview someone live on air.
In the fall, I went on my first date with my boyfriend. These past few months have been magical, and I feel so lucky!
I was also accepted into New Mexico State University in October. I will be attending there next fall, after my family and I move back to El Paso, TX.
This year is going to bring a lot of changes and I’m excited to see what it has in store. Some goals that I have for my life are reading the Bible in a year, journaling daily, practicing yoga consistently, and staying off social media.
I hope you all have a happy new year!
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