Welcome back everyone!

There are only two more days left of 2019, and it’s that time again where everyone writes up their goals for the new year, me included. I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions since they never end up getting kept and I like initiating change whenever a new goal strikes my mind. That being said, there are a lot of things I’d like to accomplish this upcoming year. If you’re looking for some inspiration or would just like to hear about another person’s goals, keep on reading.

• Visit different regions of the U.S. (and California!) – There’s so much of this huge country that I haven’t seen, and I would love to explore more of it. It also makes sense to do so since I’ll probably be going on more college visits in the East Coast and other parts of the country.
• Become conversationally proficient in Spanish – I’m in Spanish 3 this year and plan to be in Spanish 4/AP next year, so I’m hoping that I’ll really improve my skills. There’s a lot of Spanish speakers here in southern California so it’s a useful skill to have, and I’ve always wanted to be bilingual or close to it.
• Attend a summer program/get an internship over summer – I want to have some sort of summer activity/independent project that I can be proud of. I’ll talk more about summer plans soon, but I definitely know I’ll be busy somehow.
• Maintain a healthier lifestyle – I don’t mean a diet or anything too specific. I would just like to exercise a bit more and be more conscious of my eating choices, hopefully getting healthier as I go along. I feel better when I do these things, but sweets are so tempting.
• Produce less waste – I’m also trying to be more sustainable- metal straws, reusable bags, and the like. I’m not perfect, but in 2020 I plan to mainly support more sustainable brands.
• Improve my writing – I’m not exactly sure what this entails, but I’m hoping to pursue my interest in writing a lot more this year. Hopefully this means submitting to more journals and competitions, and just writing more in general.
• Take initiative/be a leader in some way – Again, I’m not exactly sure how to approach this. I’ve been working on my self-confidence and leadership skills a lot in 2019, so I’m hoping I can put them into use in 2020. I want to start my own club or some sort of group at school, and we’ll see where that goes.

Hopefully this inspires you to make your own list of goals for the new year! I have no clue what 2020 has in store, but if it’s anything like 2019, it’s sure to be chock-full of crazy memories and new experiences that I can’t wait to see for myself. I’m trying to tell myself that all of these goals are definitely possible and I’ll be able to successfully complete them, so let’s hope for the best 🙂

Happy almost new year,

Brooke