#65: goals, resolutions, aspirations, and intentions oh my !!
started a new book and went viral on tiktok
hi hi hi sisters ♡ and merry christmas to all !!! this is my first time outside my mission where I am spending christmas with a family not of my own, and it kinda feels weird, but also kinda doesnt.
I find it harder and harder to get into the christmas spirit as I get older. the further separated I am from children the less magical christmas can feel. which is why i tried to go out of my way and do as many christmas things as I could in new york before I left to spend time with bjørn and his family. I will say that going to the rockefeller tree at 4:50 am was particularly special. and seeing the nutcracker was STUNNING.
keeping the recommendations section to recommendations for different substacks that I read. I find it to be really important to support small “businesses” (that sounds odd to use here, but maybe influencers is another word I can use?) and one way I can do that is by sharing about them!
there is a woman named
. she is an author and has also written advice columns called “dear sugar.” I first heard of her because of my friend maggie, LOVES her book called “tiny beautiful things” and holy shit that book is so powerful. Cheryl is the most empathetic person I have ever read from. she has a way of being completely honest with someone, while also being there for them and giving them a piece of hope when all hope has felt lost. anywayssss, she has a substack called Dear Sugar. she still has Dear Sugar advice columns that she does on her substack, but she also takes time to have authors come on and tell us about themselves.anyways, i need to fully read tiny beautiful things because its amazing, but its nice to have a piece of Cheryl Strayed whenever I want.
movies: for our book to movie club we watched a boy called christmas, its a cute little children’s novel written by matt haig ♡ and it was quite sweet. I FINALLY watched eloise at christmas time, I had never seen it before, which is horrible of me, because I FREAKING LOVED IT. eloise is perfection, I want to be her. and then bjørn and I watched barbie in the nutcracker, a classic, also perfect.
music: I asked chat gpt to help me make some playlists, cause I find myself just being completely lost when it comes to making a playlist sometimes. and honestly, it was so helpful, i’ve listened to three out of the four it helped me make, and I love them. I told chat which artists I love, and then also which artists I would like to listen to more (I want to expand my music taste people !!!) and it gave me songs from the people I named as well as songs I didnt know, and I kept asking it to expand and give me more songs until i had about 30 songs per playlist. and its been great! highly recommend doing if you find yourself stuck.
broadway: I was able to see SUFFS for a second time on broadway, and wowowowowowow I just adore that musical. it is not only powerful, inspirational, and motivating, it is also so well done. the music is catchy and emotional. the acting and feeling so seen as woman is tangible. I love it! and i’m so glad I was able to see it again before it closes in a couple of weeks. also it brings out a female rage in me that wants to make the world a better place, and makes me really excited to go to the people’s march in DC next month !!!
in my mind: OMG I am currently reading blue sister by coco mellors and I am LOVING IT. like I am so enthralled with each sister’s story and I find myself wanting to just read and read and read and THAT is a nice feeling
with the year coming to a close, and a new year around the corner, i find myself 1) reflecting on this past year’s new years resolutions i have set for myself and 2) thinking about what goals i want to set for next year.
i have done a bunch of different methods for coming up with new years resolutions. I have done a word of the year, which set my intention for the year. I have set up the typical goals of just a check list of things to do or not do. I have made a yearly mood board. I have come up with an in’s and out’s list. I have done practically all the methods of coming up with a way I want to live my next year. and to be completely honest, I don’t have a preference but I have always enjoyed the act of setting out how I want the next year to go in some way shape or form. I haven’t always stuck with my goals or my yearly intention, but I do enjoy thinking about what I want to happen.
this past year my goals were as followed:
no soda: I was doing this to be a support to my sister as she was giving up soda, but I learned that she quit so I decided to quit, but I still don’t really drink it often
read 24 books: unfortunately I am only at 21, but i’ll probably be at 22 or 23 by the time the year actually ends
bed before midnights most nights: according to my oura ring my typical time in bed was from 12:09 am…. SO I do want to keep striving for this because ya girl is SLEEPY
journal more, lmao that did not happen at all, but I have been making videos and doing this newsletter so that acts as a journal almost
meet Timmy: will always be a goal
have a fruit or veggie daily: you’d be surprised how hard this can be sometimes if you aren’t thinking about it, sounds pathetic but its true
pilates 2x a month: this happened for 3 months and then hasnt happened since…
therapy: I did a group therapy thing for a little bit, and that was nice but not for me, I do need to find a therapist though
looking back, I have NOT completed or accomplished almost any of those goals…. but I actually don’t feel bad about it. they are aspirations i want to achieve, and if I didnt set them as a goal I might not have been focused on any of those.
thinking ahead for this next year, its going to be a big and busy year. I have my last semester of law school, studying for the bar, and moving to San Francisco. thats a LOT! so I do know that for my year I want to focus on this quote:
“eat the fruit that is in season”
there will be a lot of changes coming up in my life, a lot of things happening that will be out of my control, and I want to make sure that I am focusing on what is right in front of me. focusing on the moments that I can control. and making sure that I am not jumping ahead of myself. all easier said than done, but I do think its nice to have something I can go back to, a motto that i can reflect on during stressful times.
that being said I do have a couple of goals I do want to maybe achieve next year:
make quarterly mood boards for my phone background; I had a yearly one this year and really liked it but I want to make them quarterly hehe
hand make or thrift as many gifts as I can for others throughout the year; or try to shop small as much as possible when I cant make or thrift something
get a workout routine and create healthy eating habits
meet timmy (will always be a goal, a girl’s gotta manifest)
read 12 books (this seems drastically low for me but I know studying for the bar is going to take it out of me, so if I read a book a month on average I am happy with myself)
we shall see if they happen. part of me hates that I am not coming up with a S.M.A.R.T. goal that can be like tracked, but its okay, its not that serious.
okay enough from me, what about you? what goals/resolutions do you have?
tiktok: mikey made the best christmas cards and I made a little video about it that has gone kinda viral; this cracked me up; living for the stuffed animal renaissance
pinterest: this is how I want christmas to feel; beauty at every age
instagram: IT SNOWED IN NEW YORK; me me me me meeeeeeeee; LOVE this
Eating 1 fruit or vegetable daily is hard for me too sometimes!! Merry Christmas Kaitlynn!