2015 Goals

I know it's uber cliche to say this, but damn, I can't believe 2014 is almost over! I've done so much in the past year (especially in the last three months) that it kind of feels like I haven't been able to fully appreciate it. I've travelled and (finally) started this blog, I've met and interviewed so many wonderful people and discovered so much - both about my surroundings and myself. Sounds cheesy, I know, but there's a number of things I'm thankful for from 2014.

That being said, I'm prepared to ring in the new year! I don't normally make those drastic, life-changing resolutions, cause let's face it, less than half of us can actually keep them. So instead, I've got a few smaller, more realistic goals I'd like to accomplish in 2015, and fingers crossed, I can stay on track with them.

Here we go!

 1. sleep earlier - Like most university students, I'm no stranger to staying up until the I can see the sun begin to rise from my bedroom window and groaning at the thought of having to survive a day on no sleep. So that's going to change. I've decided to only let myself stay up no later than 11pm, and after that, it's lights out. I've also enlisted the help of the Sleep Better app on my iPhone - you place it next to your pillow and it tracks your sleeping pattern (e.g. when you're in a deep sleep and so on). I think a visual of my sleeping habits is totally useful in giving me a reality check.

Printed exercise/yoga pants from Old Navy, ombre tank top from La Senza, Mind over Matter muscle tee from Forever 21

 2. exercise daily - And I don't mean hardcore, full-on cardio and strength exercises at least three hours a day. I'm talking at least an hour of pilates, yoga and cardio a day to ease myself into such routines. With the schedule I'm running, this is a much more realistic way of fitting exercise into my days, and I'm super excited about it! Two weeks before flying out for the holidays, I started really getting into the beginner pilates videos from Blogilates and weight-loss yoga videos from Yoga with Adriene. As sore and wiped-out as I feel after doing a couple of their videos, I feel much better (and more flexible too!), so I'm definitely going to keep doing them (and more) this 2015.

 3. be more organized - Not that I don't have my life in order, but again, with the classes I'm taking and the assignments overlapping one another, managing my time better will definitely help me have less break downs and actually get stuff done in advance. So I've got my trusty Kate Spade planner (that stays on my desk, no matter what), this uber cute journal from The Paper Stone (a gift from les cousins in SG) and these mini notebooks to carry around in my bag for all sorts of purposes - writing quick notes on places and stories I should look into, contact details of my interviewees, and of course,  reminders and deadlines. I need to be able to find a more manageable balance between school, a social life and managing this blog, so this needs to happen.
And you know, this totally feeds my stationary obssession, so, cool beans!

 4. work (even) harder - Now it's no shocker that most of my time is spent chasing down stories and playing the waiting game with sources, but this year, I'm hoping to really kick it up a notch. This definitely overlaps with my goal to be more organized, and you I'm really hopeful it'll work. Be it writing my stories in advance (and giving myself more time to edit), being more persistent in talking to people or just making a decision in which field of journalism I want to be in, it's going to happen. And you know, I can't neglect my Psychology minor too, so this year's going to mean crunch-time for me to get all my stuff done and at the quality I want them to be at.

5. stress and worry less - Again, works well with my 'be more organized' goal, but I really need to give myself a break and not hyperventilate. I'm someone who can get anxious really easily, and boy, does that need to stop. My parents have to constantly reassure me that it's going to be fine from the other side of the world, and I think it'll do me some good to listen to that. Once I know I've done what I could (to the best of my abilities), I need to be able to let it go. I constantly worry about what others will think, what grades are going to be but damn, I need to relax more. Go with the flow after that and move on. Come on, who else is with me? Where my fellow worriers at? We can do this!

6. make time for reading - The only way I can truly relax and shut down from real life is through reading, and I really do need to make time for it. There's nothing wrong with winding down with a good book and some tea (provided that you're not neglecting important stuff like deadlines!!!) and being the bookworm that I am, I so miss that feeling. Granted, I was able to read quite a substantial amount during the Christmas break, but it wasn't as fun considering I had to cram like 10 books in a busy two-week schedule. So this 2015, dedicated R&R with a book is in order, and you can't stop me. Seriously, this is going down. And plus, it'll give me more material to work with for my TLP Reads book reviews, so you know, two birds with one stone, when I have the time. 

7. be more fearless and discover more - Last but certainly not least. I guess this one would have to be my most challenging and drastic one. But you know, day by day baby steps across the year will make this doable. Like I said, I'm someone who gets anxious quite easily, but that's not to say that I don't like getting out there and going on adventures. This year I want to push myself more to step out of my comfort zones on a frequent basis - be a bit more like Jim Carrey's character Carl Allen from Yes Man (if you haven't seen it yet, please do!) and say yes to more opportunities. But you know, not to the gross, icky stuff like you know what in the movie.

So, I'm hoping that you're having a wonderful and fun-filled New Year's Eve wherever you are, and I hope that 2014's treated you well as it has me. If not, well, let's face 2015 together with our chins up, determined and positive. Here's to more adventures (and *ahem* blog posts)!

Love,
Arianna