Goodbye, 2015… and hello, 2016!

In 2015, I did something I’d always talked about: I made resolutions I actually intended to keep.

Now sure, I’d always made a resolution here or there, but they weren’t things I even was convinced I’d keep. Exercise more. Say yes to more things. Make new friends. Lose weight.

But while those are nice ideas, they have no plan of attack. They’re not SMART goals — they’re not actionable or measurable. They’re “feeling” goals, not “acting” goals.

I wanted 2015 to be different. And so I decided on three actionable, time-bound, goal-oriented resolutions that I believe I could accomplish, but that would

Here were my 3 goals:

1. Run 5 miles, and enjoy it.
2. Read 55 books by different authors (following the 2015 Popsugar Reading Challenge)
3. Commit to writing at least 1 blog post per month that you can be proud of.

How’d I do?

1. FIVE MILE FUN RUN:
   This past June, I signed up for my first 8K, which totals roughly 5 miles. My father traveled in from out of town and we did the race together, encouraging each other on the unbelievably muggy summer day.

   

   I won’t tell you that that race was so terribly fun, but being together with my dad, exercising and joking and sharing the day, it was meaningful, above all else.

   And moving forward? This June, I’ll be participating in a duathlon, so this one has really stuck! YAY FITNESS!

2. READING CHALLENGE:
   YES. On December 27th, a few days before the end of the year, I finished Book 55, for the challenge. I had read a few other books here and there that weren’t part of the challenge, but that’s only because ROBERT GALBRAITH and WORK BOOKS sometimes pop up unexpectedly, after they won’t fit in any remaining challenge areas.

   

   This challenge was made more fun because I had two friends working towards it with me. Though only two of us finished before the new year, we had an amazing time cataloguing our progress together on our Book Bros Blog, and decided to make the challenge a yearly thing. This year, I’m trying to read only (or mostly) books by authors who aren’t straight, white men. You can track progress of this next year’s challenge on bookbros.tumblr.com!

3. BLOG POSTS:
   Have you seen this blog?! (:

   I’ve loved blogging my way through the year, at least once per month — and while my posts occasionally lag behind my actual experiences (sometimes I don’t think to blog until a week later!), I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. Hoping that 2016 is even better!

Now. Unsure what 2016 will bring, but I think I’m ready. BRING IT ON.

Will keep you updated as I go along!