My Set Summer Goals

Every season of my life, I like to set some new, fresh, and improved goals for myself. I right, reflect, and envision what I want that season of my life to look like in order to set myself up for success. For me, as a current student, there's the school year, the fall semester, the new year, the spring semester, and then summer. Each period of time looks different, and I like to think of it as an opportunity for a new start. Each time I start a new season of life, I like to reflect on it personally, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. What that period of time looked like, where did I improve, what could I improve on, where did I grow, and where did I not. As someone who is very self-aware and strives on self-improvement, I want to understand what certain parts of my life I could change in order to improve for the next season of life.

For me, this has always been a piece to my personal puzzle that has really helped me to strive in life. I feel confident when I can set goals for myself because I know it challenge to push myself beyond my limits.

I want to be someone who is successful. Success looks different for everyone, but success to me means that I can look myself in the mirror and truly be happy with the work I've put into myself. To be happy with where my energy and efforts are going. Success comes from change, from active effort that's put in to making a change in order to improve one's life. I like being able to look back on my life to see the changes I've made and hopefully the impact it's had on my life. To see the growth within myself. To see the change I actively made and to be proud of the work I put into making that change.

I think it's incredibly important we all individually take time to reflect on our lives and where they're going. what do we want? What are our goals? Where do we envision ourselves in the next couple of years or even months? Reflection can mean we take the time to understand what makes us happy and what might not fulfill us anymore. What areas or relationships within our lives could we strengthen and improve on in order for us to live the life that fulfills us the most?

Reflection and goal setting are pieces within my life that I've learned to use and love. It's a time for me to improve and redirect where I want my energy to go, so I'm not wasting it on things that drain me.

There's a lot of change that's happening for me at the current moment. A lot of great changes that I couldn't be more excited and happy about, too. However, while change can be great, that amazing change of great opportunities can be scary. While I'm so excited to start my summer internship, move to Chicago, work with people and a career that I'm so passionate about, it feels so unreal. Like holy shit WOW I'm actaully doing this is and it's actaully fucking happening. It's scary yet so exciting. I feel like I'm living my dream. The dream I've dreamed since I was in 8th grade. The dream I've dreamt when I took all my friends our senior year of high school on senior skip day to all the fancy spots in the city. I'm here. I'm living that dream.

So yes, back to goal setting... like I said, I really enjoy being able to reflect after different seasons within my life to understand where I personally want to improve on. Here are a couple of goals I'm setting this summer to keep myself accountable, happy, healthy, and disciplined in order to live the life I want for myself.

1. Read one new article every day

   As a journalist, I want to be able to participate in the conversations. It's incredibly important that I read about trending news or topics happening within the world to help me understand the relevance it has within the media. As a communicator, a marketer, and a relationship builder, I really want to set this goal for myself because it will push me to learn. It will encourage me to learn about topics that would have never crossed my desk or feed. Right now, I feel super eager and passionate to learn about what is being talked about in the world. I'm eager to participate in the conversation, to give my opinion, and to learn from others. This goal I'm pushing to set for myself is something I want to do because I know it will truly broaden my horizons and allow me to understand many topics within society.

2. Routine, Routine, Routine

   I feel like I can't stress this enough but my rotuine litteraly keeps from actually loosing my shit. I also can't tell you enough how much I LOVE and romanticize my everyday routine. Routine can sound boring, and maybe it is, but it also feels safe. It's something my brain and body know, love, and craves. Now, within my routine, there are certain things I love and look forward to every day. I like getting up in the morning and working out. I feel like I've really got my shit together and like "heck yeah" I started my day off strong. I feel energized and ready to take on the day. I also freaking love my damn Nesspresso machine. My morning coffee truly is my saving grace and probably the item I look forward to most in the morning. I also love the feeling of getting ready. The putting on my outfit, I'm excited to wear, styling my hair, putting on my makeup, and that feeling of being able to look at myself in the mirror and to be fully happy with myself. I love that. My nighttime routine is just as important as my morning. I love being able to come back from class or work to walk the bustling sunny streets, cook a new TikTok recipe from my favorite influencer, work on my homework, and prep for the next day. The over-the-top nighttime shower routine I have for myself, paired with a fresh set of cozy pajamas, peppermint tea, gua sha, and reading. While this is more so my school routine, once I move to the city, I know my routine there won't be much different from this one because it's something I've ingrained into the way I live my life.

3. Website and Blog

   This is and has been something I know I need to improve on. Life just got crazy, I was burnt out, and when I did have a break from the business of life, all I really wanted to do was lie the heck down. Either that, go for a walk, or go out were really my only other breaks so when I was able to do so, that last thing I wanted to do was write more. I also have never wanted writing or my website to become a chore for me because it's my outlet. My outlet where I can say, share, and create things that I'm passionate about. However, this summer I'm making it a goal to really strengthen not only my blog and website but my personal brand as a whole. I want to post more on TikTok, on my main Instagram, and on my RiDEDINED page as well. My goal is to make sure I'm filling my website with content that is relevant to me and my everyday life. That means writing about topics I feel passionate about, talking about all the experiences I hope to gain from work, and adding them to my page to show what I've been up to. I really want to hold myself accountable to this goal because I know that, within my career in the long run, it will only help to set me up for success.

4. Seek, Connect, Learn

   "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." Yes, I know quite cheesy of me to add this in here, however, I believe this quote is the foundation we humans can utilize within our everyday lives. As people, we want to be understood. We want people to feel for us, to be able to connect with us; we inherently have this desire to be understood by others. However, in order for a person to be understood, they need to seek to understand others. Listening is one of the most important tools we humans have. By actively seeking to pursue and understand what others have to say helps to set the foundation for meaningful relationships, better communication, and long-term success in one's life. Listening is what sets us up for success because, without listening, how can we learn?

   At this point in my life, I think it's incredibly important to not just focus on one specific area of my career, but also to pay attention to all the surrounding elements that contribute to it. A goal I want to set for myself is to reach out to one or two people per week whose careers and passions align with mine. Every week, I want to make sure that I'm setting up some sort of meeting where I can speak to, ask questions to, and learn from leaders within my field to help expand my knowledge. On a deeper level, I've learned that I love working with people. I love the conversations had, the laughs that are shared, the new things I can learn from them, the advice they might share, but ultimately the connection that is made. This summer, I really want to push myself to reach out to people that I find inspiring.

5. Random

   This section is more for me to hold myself accountable to the goals I'm setting. One of those is to stop picking at my nails. I hate it. I feel like having my nails done or at least to the point of looking somewhat nice shows that I've got my shit together. And honestly, I'm addicted to that feeling. So with that being said, I'm going to make sure that my nails are always painted and groomed. I'm also stopping with the acrylics. It's a crazy amount of money for something that only lasts a certain amount of time, even though I love having my nails done. at this time, there are so many other things I could be spending my money on.

   Next is making sure I'm getting a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I don't care what it takes, it's happening and I'm doing it.

   Selfcare!! While I'm all about keeping myself accountable, I'm also all about taking care of myself. That means making sure I'm sticking to my routine, gua shaing, reading, resting, and being able to enjoy all of life's greatest experiences. What's self-care if you're not enjoying your life? If you're not stopping to look around you to appreciate the beauty, the opportunity, and the ability you have to explore all that the world is.