This blog may come a bit later than most that deal with this topic, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not an important one. Creating goals for the year is always a wonderful task, even if those goals slowly fizzle away. For this year, I am focusing mot of my energy on a few key goals. I am more of a process type of individual and focus primarily on the journey, rather than the destination. I believe it is important to get the small habits down than just focus primarily on the end goal. Having goals is important to me, but the process getting to those goals has always been my main focus. Anyway, I want to share some of the goals that I have for this year.

Before I get into it, I want to just let you guys know that this year will be a huge year for me, starting with this month. January has never really been a great month for me. I am an end-of-the-year type person and the beginning has always brought sadness and depression. This year will be different. In a few days, I will become an uncle to a baby boy. Most of you reading this will probably be reading after I become an uncle so I will have to update you all on how it goes. This is also the year I get my doctorate. I was pretty much told this is my last year so I will be leaving. So two very big things going on so far. I also turn the big 30! Hot dang, time flies. Well, you aren’t here to hear me rant so let’s get into my list!

Goals for This Year

1) Graduate

This is the ultimate goal of this year. I am ABD (all but dissertation) and all I need to do is finish a few experiments and I am ready for the write up. Luckily, I have been writing a ton over the three years here so my dissertation is practically done. (not really but I am better off then a lot of other people.) I want to spend some time travelling when I finish so finding a job is not my main priority just yet. I want to get to the finish line before I start thinking about the celebration, you know?

2) Travel when we can

Travelling is life. I was not bitten by the travel bug, I was devoured by it lol. I miss being able to go someone brand new and try all of the different foods, meet some interesting people, and just submerse yourself in that culture. Hopefully we can get back to normal after Omicron and get back to travelling the world. This year, I plan on visiting another Asian country. I went to China when I graduated from undergrad and not I want to go to Thailand or somewhere near there. If you have been over that way, comment below and let me know the best place to go.

3) Build up my blog

The last time I looked, I think I am at like 160 blog posts or something crazy like that. I love it and blogging has significantly helped my writing, especially my dissertation. I love all of the support from my fans and friends and I especially love that I have developed a cool little hobby. Writing was not my forte when I was younger, but now I consider myself a writer. Thank you all for your support. I want to grow this blog even more and maybe turn it into a side hustle. Who knows, maybe blogging might become my career one day.

4) Figure out what I want to do for my next career

I said “my next career” for a reason. Life is uncertain and where I go next will probably not be where I am in 10 years. I may start off as a scientist and turn into an artist or something. I really don’t know. But for now, I want to figure out my next step. This is a daunting task for sure, but one I must make.

5) Move somewhere other than Florida

Life has a funny way of guiding you where you need to go. Florida has been my home for the past 20 years and I think it is telling me to move on. Things are changing so fast and the Florida that I grew up in is not the same now. Things change, and impermanence is inevitable, but it still makes me a bit sad. I think with the change, there will be new beginnings. Florida will always be my home but I do think it may be time to go somewhere else. California is calling me back, I know that. I may consider another country as well. I hear Germany is a pretty cool place to live.

6) Develop better eating habits

Eating healthily in grad school has been tough. Pizza, pasta, ice cream, alfredo, ramen, literally anything is better than eating vegetables lol. I do want to transition into a better and healthier eating habit. The main problem in grad school is healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food. This is why it is so easy to get into that lifestyle of eating badly. Hopefully, I make a bit more money after college so I can eat better. For now, I am slowly trying to replace processed foods with fresh foods. I think I am on the right path.

7) Read at least one book all the way through

I am not a reader. In fact, I don’t really have the attention span to sit down and read. I do like listening to Audible books though. This year, I want to be able to read at least one book all the way through. I haven’t done this in ages and I truly think that reading more will benefit my wellbeing. It will keep me off social media, that’s for sure.

8) Delete one of my social media platforms

This is a big one for me. Eventually, I want to get to the point where social media is just completely out of my life. My mental health has significantly benefitted from my reduction of social media. I don’t really compare myself to people anymore and not being bombarded with negativity daily is refreshing. I think I will start with Twitter, then move to Instagram, and finally, Facebook. It will be a slow transition, but a welcomed one.

9) Relearn Calculus

One of the funniest things that I find about grad school is how I have forgotten how to do math. It has been 10 years since I had a calculus course and I want to relearn it. I want to get more familiar with math again and be comfortable with doing it. Just basic math gives me anxiety now because I don’t do it often and I make a few mistakes here and there. I want to be a math guru again, so i am going to either take a class online or reteach myself. God help me.

10) Get one more paper published

I was able to get my literature review published in a pretty good journal. If you are interested or just curious, here’s a link to the paper. There is a pay wall so you may only have access to the abstract. I am sorry about that. You can email me and I will send you a copy if you are truly curious. I believe I am able to do that. This year, I want to get one more paper published so I can have two, first author papers. That would be a heck of a dream lol.

11) Have someone tell me that I have positively impacted their life

This has been one of my goals all throughout grad school and ever since I actually started caring about being a kind person. I want someone to let me know that my existence has positively impacted their life. I don’t need a million people to say this, just one and all of this that I do will be worth it. Aiming to be a good individual and do the right things, even if they are hard, is a main goal this year. I think the best thing in life is being able to benefit someone else’s life as well. So, this year, I want to get to that point where someone tells me this. It would make my whole year.

Final Thoughts

This year will have ups and downs, but I am ready. I am ready for everything that may come no matter what it is. I am also ready if this year does not turn out to be “my year”. This may happy and that is ok. I am just so excited that I get to spend another year with those I love, doing stuff that I am passionate about. I hope you guys have created a goals list that helps you this year. Hopefully you hit every goal or at least come very close to them.