Year in Review & Goals for 2018

If you’ve been on social media at all the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably seen everyone complain about how bad of a year it’s been. I’m not going to lie, 2017 definitely had its ups and downs. But if I sit here and focus on the good that’s happened instead of ranting about all the bad, then I’d say a lot of positive things happened in my life in 2017.

I think I grew more as a journalist this year than all of my college years put together. I wasn’t the most enthused about having to report politics at the Indiana Statehouse this past Spring, but it ended up being a fun experience that forced me to grow so much in such a short amount of time. If it wasn’t for that experience, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take photos of the president at a rally in Louisville, and I probably wouldn’t have been invited to help film a documentary in Washington D.C. at the end of this month. It has even allowed me to get published by major news sites while still in college. 

A lot of other things happened in 2017 that are also worth mentioning. I made this website after years of telling myself I wanted my own website to start blogging. I really got back into photography and shot a lot of work for clients outside of my photography assignments. One of my photos was even purchased by my college in an art show, and will now be hanging in the art building for years and years! I also went on a girl’s trip to Gatlinburg, turned 21 and am finally in a healthy and happy relationship after a year of feeling like I would never luck out. 

So many great things happened in 2017 despite the bad, and I am so thankful to have the wonderful people in my life that have stuck around all this time.

Here are some of my favorite memories of 2017 in photos:

2018 Goals

There’s something about the start of a new year that gets me motivated to work towards my goals and change up my routine and lifestyle. Here are my goals to start off the new year:

Take Better Care of Myself

One thing I noticed about last year is that I got sick (A LOT). This year I want to work on being healthier both physically and mentally. I want to try to eat healthier and get more sleep so I’m well rested and will be able to focus a lot better.

Live More

I can’t count the number of times my roommates have joked about the unhealthy amount of time I spend on my cell phone. I want to challenge myself to live in the moment more and spend more quality time with people without my phone attached to my hip (or hands in this case).

Learn to Say “No”

If you were to ask me to describe this past semester of college in one word, mine would be: STRESSFUL. I took on way too many extra activities and would do anything that anyone asked in a heartbeat. I want to work on learning to say “no” to people so I don’t get so overwhelmed.

Document More

For someone who loves writing and photography, I sure am bad about documenting my life. If my memory were to suddenly erase everything I know, many of the fun times I had would be forever forgotten. I want to start journaling and taking more photos of good times.

Grow my Blog

Blogging consistently was one thing that I wanted to do last year that I never did. This year, I have decided to start blogging weekly. One thing I’m doing differently this time around is planning my content in advance so I can work blogging into my weekly schedule.

Until next time,