2017 Goal Review: How Did I Do?

Hello and welcome to 2018!  Before we get too far into things, I want to take a moment and reflect back on the goals I set for myself in 2017 just to see how I did so that I can better help myself going forward.  While I'm posting my goals below and reviewing them individually, you can click HERE to view my goals and the reasoning behind why I wanted to focus on them this year.  Without further ado, here is my year in review!

1. Read Up On White Privilege And Race.  
I did do this, although not necessarily in the way I expected to accomplish this goal.  I expected to read a lot of nonfiction.  I read some nonfiction, but honestly not as much as I wanted to.  I did, however, get the chance to dig into this topic through a variety of fiction in addition to some of the nonfiction I read.  One of my favorites was 'Still I Rise,' which is a graphic history and 'The Hate U Give'.  This year, I am continuing this goal, but I'd like to expand it to many different races and focus on nonfiction.  I'd like to look into race in education as well.

2. Read 40 Books.  
I knocked this goal out of the park!  I read well over 50 books in 2017.  I set my goal lower than I normally have it because I knew that 2017 would be a year of big change for me.  I wanted to focus on getting through those changes, but it turns out I didn't have anything to worry about.  I guess it just goes to show you that if you really want to do something (even just having a little time to read), you'll find a way to make it happen.

3. Half Of The Books I Read Will Already Be On My Shelves.  
This did not go so well for me.  I read a number of books from the library, there were a few Half-Price Books trips throughout the year, I thought I was going to have one teaching job (meaning I bought all of these books I was being asked to teach) only to get another job, and there were several new books that came out this year that I just had to get my hands on.  I think for this year, my goal is more specific, so I have something to shoot for.  I'm more hopeful this year.

4. Blog Regularly.  
Looking back, I realized that I kind of stopped blogging around June after I went to New York.  I posted very occasionally since then.  I'll work on this in the future, but next year it's not a goal for me since I have other things I need to focus on.  This blog is meant to be an outlet for me, not a source of stress.

5. Reread Harry Potter.  
I started this goal and almost finished, but I only made it as far as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which I will finish this year.  I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a book, but the rest of the books I've been listening to on audiobook and that has been working much better with my need to grade my students' work and clean the house.  It's been magical to return to this series again.  Because it's been so long since I've actually read the books (as opposed to watched the movies, which I love), it's almost like reading them for the first time again.  There are so many small things that I forgot about.  My husband probably thinks I'm nuts because when I listen with headphones, I sometimes burst out laughing or I get really angry and have to take a break before diving in again.  These are such powerful books... I love this series...

Goals For Healthy Living

1. Slowly Cut Out Meat And Some Animal Products.  
This was a rocky goal... I think there were one or two months where I was able to go pescatarian (meaning I still ate fish, but no other meat) and then the further we got into the year, the more I slipped.  Suddenly I was eating so much meat I didn't know what to do with myself.  I am planning to go full vegetarian this year.  Maybe removing the temptation of fish will make things easier.  I'm going to try and be a bit more forgiving of myself too.  Especially as I'm transitioning, it's not the end of the world if I slip up for one day.  The point is that I'm cutting back and I'll get there eventually.

2. Get An Exercise Routine With Varied Exercises.  
I joined the gym with my mom and then got my husband to join.  I have gone several times, but not lately.  So I can't say I've formed a routine.  I didn't try any new exercises that became part of my repertoire either.  I'll try this again next year.

3. Drink More Water.  
This is another one where I had good days and bad.  I think in general, I was more aware of how much water I was drinking each day, so that's a positive step.  In my bullet journal, I believe I specified that I wanted to drive 64 oz of water every day and that DEFINITELY didn't happen.  I'm told that it's kind of like a muscle-- I need to train myself to drink that much, so it's a process to get up to 64 oz every day.

4. Remove Useless Crap And Mess.  
I made some progress, but again, nothing that seemed to stick.  Part of this is from living with someone who is even messier than I am, but it mostly comes down to me.  I got rid of a number of things this year, but you can't really tell just by looking around the house.  I want to try and form more of a ritual for cleaning and picking things up.  I want to continue going through and getting rid of things I don't need.

Goals For Life In General

1. Attempt NaNoWriMo A Couple Times This Year.  
I did this!  And even better, I won NaNoWriMo for the first time!  I did this as a unit with my class and I think that's what finally pushed me over the edge.  I had to be an example to them, but more importantly, this was something we could bond over and cheer each other on for.  There was a community around this project.

2. Volunteer Regularly.  
Yes and no to this one and the reasons why I would say I didn't meet my goal is out of my control.  At the beginning of the year, I volunteered regularly with my 5th graders like I've been doing over the last several years.  Then their school year ended and I got my full-time teaching position and I couldn't go back to them, so I sought out something else.  I became a volunteer bunny socializer and so I got to play with bunnies once a week and that was really fun!  But we're currently in the middle of a "bunny drought," meaning there aren't a lot of unadopted bunnies in our area right now.  So I've had several weeks off because we didn't have a bunny at my PetCo.  So I've always had something lined up, but my volunteer opportunities haven't always panned out.

3. Obtain My First Teaching Job.  
Check :)  I talk about this a lot, so I won't go on about it too much.  I'm really happy with where I am though and I don't think I could have found a more supportive school.  I feel very lucky, truly.

I'm quite happy with where my goals have brought me this year!  I hope that 2018 brings as much fortune for me this year.

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

Reflecting On My 2017 Goals So Far

This year, I am approaching my goals a little bit differently.  In January, I took up bullet journaling and my goals (which I published HERE on this blog, but will repeat here for clarity) have been so much more in focus for me this year.  I'll be touching on some things that I will go more into depth in other posts, such as bullet journaling, but for now, I want to pause for a moment and reflect on how I'm doing in terms of completing my goals so far this year.

Goals For Reading/Blogging

1. Read Up On White Privilege And Race.  I'm doing okay in terms of this goal.  I have been pleasantly surprised that I have been able to find fictional stories on this topic (reviews forthcoming... I'm a bit backed up right now).  I think one way I would like to continue to meet this goal is to read more nonfiction on this topic.  How is white privilege affecting actual people?  What are the many faces of racism?  What effects does it have on its victims?  Are there experts in the field who have ideas on how the average person can take action?

2. Read 40 Books.  This goal is going great!  So far, I have finished 27 books, including a couple of books that are re-reads for me.  I kind of love revisiting books that I loved reading the first time.  I don't mind making those reads a part of my final count for the year.

3. Half Of The Books I Read Will Already Be On My Shelves.  Yeah... this has been an issue.  I tend to read my books in a few different ways-- I use my Kindle to read library books, listen to audio books (although so far none this year), or I read a physical book.  I have read a lot of library books on my Kindle this year which means those books did not come off of my shelf.  But there have also been a couple circumstances that have required me to buy new books to read instead of reading the books that are already on my shelf.  I don't know if half of the books I read this year will be from my book shelf, but in an effort to make it so that I read more books that I already own, I have made a pile next to my desk of all of the books I want to read by the end of the year.  My thinking is that when I finish a book, I'll be more likely to pull from that pile as opposed to hunting around my digital library for a new title or going to the book store or something like that.  I'll let you know how this goes.

4. Blog Regularly.  This is going horribly.  I like that I am posting a mix of book reviews and travel posts, but I am far from consistent.  I have marked a day of the week in my bullet journal to help prompt me to write a blog post once a week, but sometimes I just don't feel moved to post something.  This might take gaining a little more control over the rest of my life or going on a blog post writing binge and then scheduling all of those.  I'll figure something out.

5. Reread Harry Potter.  I have not started this goal yet.  Honestly, I'm not sure I'll get accomplished this year.  There's a lot going on.  Who knows though.  I have a number of dense reads on my aforementioned pile next to my desk, so maybe in order to have a slightly lighter read, I'll pull out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and get started.  Only time will tell.  If I don't finish this year, I'll put it on the top of my list for next year, because this is something I would like to do.

Goals For Healthy Living

1. Slowly Cut Out Meat And Some Animal Products.  This is going quite well, I think.  I'm not 100% vegetarian yet, but I have managed to eat meatless dishes around 5-6 days of the week.  We have also been drinking more almond milk in my house.  I find that I don't really miss eating meat-- in fact, I tend to feel physically better if I don't eat meat.  Maybe by the end of the year I'll be completely vegetarian, but for now, I'm really happy with the progress I've made.

2. Get An Exercise Routine With Varied Exercises.  Still working on getting the routine down (prospects are looking good for a consistent schedule) and I'm still working on getting the varied part down.  What I'm really happy about is that I have a gym membership and I've been going about twice a week with some exceptions.  I approached exercise a bit differently this time around.  I think joining a gym has been a great motivator since I'm paying to use the equipment and facility.  I've also been going with my mom and recently, my husband also joined the gym and has been exercising more.  I'm giving myself fewer outs when it comes time to exercise.  So I'm really happy with how I'm doing in this department.

3. Drink More Water.  I have been making good steps towards this.  I have amended my goal to drinking 64 oz. a day by the end of the year.  32 oz. has proven to be reasonable for me, but after talking to a very fitness-oriented friend, I learned that drinking a lot of water like I want to do takes building up a tolerance.  So every couple of months, I have been up-ing my intake by 16 oz.  So I'm currently struggling with 48 oz., but I am definitely succeeded that I am drinking more water on a consistent basis.  This feels good.

4. Remove Useless Crap And Mess.  This has been a work in progress.  I took several bags of old books and clothes I no longer wear to Goodwill.  In the next couple weeks, I am taking another large load of books to my classroom so my students can read them.  I'm trying to be more consistent in ensuring that I am living in a clean space, so I'll be working on doing that and building that habit before I get really busy at work.

Goals For Life In General

1. Attempt NaNoWriMo A Couple Times This Year.  Technically I can check this goal off my list because I have indeed attempted NaNoWriMo a couple times this year.  I never won though, but it has really gotten me thinking about what I need in a writing practice and how I can prioritize writing.  I think this is even more important than the actual attempt.

2. Volunteer Regularly.  For the first half of the year, I was really good about this.  I had a day between substitute teaching jobs where I could consistently volunteer with my fifth graders and I would go help out there every week.  That was really great for me.  During the summer, things have been a bit different.  Obviously I couldn't be with my fifth graders when they weren't in school (and besides that, moving on to middle school).  But I've found something new that has me volunteering regularly again-- I am a volunteer bunny socializer!  Perhaps I will write more about what this is like.  So far, I am really enjoying it though.  It's nice to work with adorable, soft critters on a daily basis.

3. Obtain My First Teaching Job.  After a lot of tears, several interviews, and a lot of anxiety and alternative plans, I have accepted my first teaching job!  My school year starts towards the end of this month and I couldn't be more exciting.  I plan to talk more about teaching and interviewing in a separate blog post, so look out for that very soon.

If you have any ideas for how I can move forward in the places where it seems I am stuck or if you have any advice for me, I'd love to hear it!  But otherwise, it's nice to put into perspective where I want to be with where I am so I can adjust course as necessary.

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

Goals for 2017

This year is going to be an interesting one.  For me personally, the main reason is because I am newly graduated!  This will be the first time I have quite a bit of freedom to decide what I'm going to do in my life.  In the spirit of this freedom, here are my goals for 2017:

Goals For Reading/Blogging

1. Read Up On White Privilege And Race.  I feel that this is a personal responsibility.  As a white person, I have the privilege to ignore the shootings that have been happening around the U.S.  I can pretend that these problems don't exist because I'm not personally experiencing them.  But if I, and others like me, did that, no change will happen.  I want to do this for my students who were scared when they heard the results of the 2016 election.  I want to do this for my students and friends who have to fight for their right to be taken seriously and to stay alive.  It's not much, but at least it's something.

2. Read 40 Books.  This goal is lower than I've usually had.  I will have quite a bit of extra time to read, since I'm not in school any more, but I want to read more for content rather than for quantity of books.  In school, I was swamped with required reading, so the reading that I did for fun, usually it was stories that I could become engaged in, but not always the books that I would be sucked into reading.  I read to think about other things.  This time, the function of my reading will be a bit different than it has been lately.

3. Half Of The Books I Read Will Already Be On My Shelves.  I have fallen into the classic reader trap where I buy a lot of books and then they spend a lot of time on my shelves before I actually get around to reading them (if I get around to reading them).  So I hope to weed through my shelves and find hidden gems.  And even if I find some duds, at least I'll know which books I can take off my shelves to find better homes for.

4. Blog Regularly.  My goal is to put out something once a week, whether that's a post about life or a book review.  Because of the other writing opportunities I have had this past year, this blog has really gone to the wayside.  I'd like to revamp it a bit and get things going again.  Give me a moment to get my life in order post-graduation and then I'll let you know what that regular schedule looks like.

5. Reread Harry Potter.  I have read each book in the series and I have seen the movies more times that I would care to share with you.  But it has definitely been a while since I've cracked the spine of this particular set of books that has changed my life.  I recently re-watched, from start to finish, each of the eight Harry Potter films.  I was taken in by the magic once again and I want to have that with the books.  I have my perspective on the series as a younger person, now I want my adult self to experience Harry.  Maybe I'll attempt to read the books in French or Dutch, since I have both of those sets as well.  It'll be good practice for me.

Goals For Healthy Living

1. Slowly Cut Out Meat And Some Animal Products.  Last Spring, I started my research on being vegetarian when I wrote an article for my university.  I interviewed people to learn more about their personal reasons for being vegetarian or vegan and learned about how they made the change from what most Americans would call a "regular" diet (leaning towards being a true omnivore to carnivore).  The article that came after that, I tried being vegetarian (or more accurately, the occasional pescatarian) for a short period of time.  While the ethics side of eating vegetarian is a great reason for eating this way, I don't think this is reason enough for me to adjust.  Call me selfish, I guess.  But what I noticed during this brief experiment is that I never felt stuffed after I ate (there tends to be fewer calories in vegan/vegetarian food than in meat-based food), there were a lot of options for me as far as things to eat that I actually really liked, and I generally felt good, physically speaking.  I can only wonder what would happen if I tried this experiment again for longer.  I also add the caveat in the title "and some animal products" because I would like to cut down on the amount of dairy that I eat.  Again, it's a physical well-being thing.  This will probably be the most challenging aspect for me, since I love dairy.

2. Get An Exercise Routine With Varied Exercises.  This is something that has popped up on my goals list in the past (and I know I'm not alone), but I have really been having trouble getting my routines to stick.  I do know these things though: I like swimming, yoga, and walking.  I think these will be the varied exercises that I focus on.  I also know this: I'm not trying to become fit or trim for a specific life event.  This past year, my goal was to fit into my wedding dress for my August 2016 wedding.  Once the day of the wedding came and went, my exercise and eating habits went to hell in a hand basket.  This time, I don't have such a life-event.  I'll be working to look and feel better for my own sake.  I'll have to have some safe-guards in place to keep me on track, but I think having that non-life event based goal will help me stick with it.  I'll have to think about a weight goal though.  That is a goal that should absolutely stay.

3. Drink More Water.  I think this will go with wanting to feel better physically, but it also goes with being very conscious that I don't drink nearly enough water.  I have a Nalgene water bottle that I often carry around with me, but I usually reach the bottom of it  in 2-3 days.  Not good... I want to at least work my way up to drinking one full bottle each day.  Progress is progress, I suppose.

4. Remove Useless Crap And Mess.  Over the past few months, I have really been bitten by the cleaning bug.  My house is an absolute mess.  A lot of it has to do with just having too many things.  I want to go through everything I own (kitchen supplies, books, clothes, papers, etc.) and get rid of anything that I haven't used in the last few months.  I want to have a better sense of organization and control in my life.  Why not start with my home?  And since my evenings won't be filled with homework due to being out of school, I think I'll finally be out of excuses and I can work on making this happen.

Goals For Life In General

1. Attempt NaNoWriMo A Couple Times This Year.  The only official National Novel Writing Month is in November, but I also plan to attempt it in January.  I'll have to see what life is like in November (I hope to be teaching full-time, but we'll see what happens), but I'm thinking I could also try Camp NaNoWriMo over the summer.  I believe if there's something you want, it doesn't matter how many times you have fallen in the past, you have to be persistent.  Here's to persistence.

2. Volunteer Regularly.  I don't necessarily need to find one place to volunteer at once a week, but that would be okay.  My main goal is to find a way to give back to my community.  For a while, I think that'll mean giving time rather than giving financially.  But we'll see what I can swing.  A lot can change in a handful of months.

3. Obtain My First Teaching Job.  I have earned my degree, I have a lot of teaching experience already... I'd like to become a better teacher with a class of students of my own.  I've been waiting for this for a really long time.

I think these goals will be enough to keep track of this year.  I hope that the New Year has started out just swimmingly for you and that it only gets better from here!